


War's Greatest Fortune

by EsseR3xinaLives



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-23
Updated: 2018-10-22
Packaged: 2018-11-04 05:03:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 51,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10983918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EsseR3xinaLives/pseuds/EsseR3xinaLives
Summary: Makoto can't help but think that Rei may have something to tell her.  Of course, what Rei has to say ends up sending Makoto's love chasing obsession into overdrive.This is supposed to run parallel to the manga series and Sailor Moon: Short Stories by Naoko Takeuchi.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah so this was a random fanfic idea I had based on literally two panels during the Black Moon arc. Anyways, hope you enjoy.

_I’ll be doing a fortune telling shop, so come and see it!  My fortunes hit the mark!_

_Of course your fortunes hit the mark!  You’re Sailor Mars after all!_

It didn’t cross Makoto’s mind that this could’ve been the last conversation that she might have had with Rei.  Of course, she never would have thought that Rei would be so easily subdued by any enemy and taken away from all of them for what could have been forever.  Taken right from the school fair that the fortune teller was so enthusiastically advertising to her friends.

Makoto couldn’t get that moment out of her mind.  Rei had told them all to come get their fortunes and winked at _her_.  Or, at least the brunette thought that wink was directed at her.  She might have been overthinking it.  Actually, she was about ninety-five percent certain that she was overthinking it, but that tiny five percent nagged at her mind incessantly.  Especially since Rei was kidnapped by Black Moon right after. Makoto couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe, just maybe, Rei had something to tell her.  Maybe…

And Makoto could have missed that message forever.

The brunette shook her head violently.  She shouldn’t dwell on such misgivings.  Everything was fine now.  The senshi stopped Black Moon, saved thirtieth century Tokyo and all returned back to their own time safely.  But would all this had been prevented if she had gone straight to Rei to get her fortune?  Maybe Rei was trying to warn her about Black Moon.  Of course, she probably would have ordered an official meeting in the command center instead of some ambiguous run-around.  Sure, the Miko had more sense than to discuss senshi business in public, unlike some of their other companions, but she would be a bit more obvious than a “come get your fortune” and a wink.  No offense, but the only person who would actually get a hint that subtle would be Ami, and that would only be if she bothered to pay attention to Rei’s antics.  So then did Rei have something to say to only the brunette, or was she really just overthinking things?

Makoto loosed a sigh and began running up the stairs of Hikawa Shrine.  It didn’t matter how certain she was that this was all in her head, it would bug her for forever if she didn’t get the answer from the fortune teller herself.

 

* * *

 

 

“Rei-chan!!!”

A young woman sweeping the tiles that led to the shrine paused and looked in the direction of the sound to find a tall brunette sprinting full speed in her direction while waving frantically.  A warm smile graced the miko’s face as her boisterous friend halted to a stop in front of her, practically falling over herself as she planted her hands on her knees, taking deep breaths to recover from her arduous journey.  Loosing a soft giggle at the display Rei spoke softly, “Hello Mako-chan.  How are you doing today?”

Makoto was too busy trying to reacquaint her lungs to the air to respond to her friend’s greeting immediately, but after a few more deep breaths the brunette returned to her full height and flashed a brilliant smile at her friend.  “Haha, don’t you know Rei-chan?  I’m always doing great!”  Pausing to catch her breath once more Makoto quickly added, “Although I probably would be better if this shrine didn’t have so many stairs, haha.”

Rei had to roll her eyes at her friend before playfully admonishing the taller girl.  “Perhaps, you would have been in better spirits if you had _walked_ up the stairs.  We usually don’t permit running on the shrine grounds anyway.”

Makoto quirked an eyebrow at this newfound information.  “ _Usually?_ ”  The brunette released a heartfelt giggle before finishing her thought.  “So, that make me some kind of special exception?”

The Miko could only shake her head in response.  “It means that I’ve given up on getting you and the others to conform to any kind of regulatory behaviors.”  Makoto simply rolled her eyes at the statement as Rei scanned their surroundings.  “Speaking of the others, are they not here with you?”

“Oh, uh…”  Makoto paused, slightly taken aback by the question.  “Well, Ami-chan had some night school courses that she needed to attend to and… um… I’m not sure where Usagi-chan is.  I didn’t see her when I left school so she might’ve gotten held after again… uh, heheh?”  The brunette awkwardly chuckle, just now realizing that she never really spent much time with Rei that wasn’t devoted to senshi business or with their other companions around.  It wasn’t weird of her to visit Rei alone, was it?

Rei didn’t seem at all fazed by Makoto’s tentative answer or her apparent self-consciousness at the situation.  Instead, the miko gazed at her friend with a blank expression that the brunette was sure was secretly analyzing her statement, presence, and very soul.

“I... see…” came the soft response from Rei.  Makoto narrowed her eyes slightly, trying to read her friend’s stoic face, when she was interrupted by a question made in the same voice.  “So, what brings you here today?”

“Well, I… uh… haha?”  This was bad.  Makoto was still trying to get over the self-consciousness of just being there without the other senshi and now she was going to have to explain what brought her there?  Suddenly, running through the shrine just to ask Rei about what she meant by “you should come get your fortune” was sounding even stupider than ever before.  But Rei was her friend.  _Rei was her friend_.  So why was she so self-conscious and awkward about talking to her without the others?

Makoto let out a deep sigh before informing priestess of what’s been on her mind.  “I just… I can’t stop thinking about the whole Black Moon incident…”

“Oh…”  The word was dropped along with the miko’s gaze.  She wasn’t expecting to hear about them again.  What could be the problem?  They had defeated Black Moon and all returned safely, so there couldn't really be a problem, could there?  Clearly, something about it must be perturbing her friend if she was going to rush over to her on her own just to discuss it.  Turning her gaze back to her friend, Rei spoke in a kind, soft voice.  “Everything turned out fine Mako-chan.  Is there any reason you keep thinking back on it?”

“W-well, I-I mean…”  Makoto couldn’t help but curse herself for her awkward stuttering.  Rei was being nothing but supportive despite the fact that she has work and probably schoolwork that the brunette was keeping her from with her ridiculous bumbling about some incredibly miniscule moment that probably meant nothing at all.  And with her thoughts spiraling about how ridiculous this was and how unfair it was to waste Rei’s time this way Makoto’s mouth started to run at the speed of her thoughts.  “I mean, before Black Moon!  I mean, with the fortune teller tent and you told us all to get fortunes, but then Black Moon came and… and then you were gone… and… er…”

There was silence between the two for a moment.  That wasn't _exactly_ what Makoto had meant to discuss, but all her thoughts were just pushing her to say _something_.  The senshi of courage forced herself to pause and actually think through what she wanted to say next, but was interrupted by her fortune-telling friend.  “I… apologize…”

“Huh?”  The brunette refocused on Rei and took notice of a slightly pained expression that took over the usually stoic face of her friend.  The soft voice continued, “I should have been able to handle Koan.  I apologize for worrying you and the others.”

“Rei-chan, don’t say things like that…” The brunette spoke with a pleading voice that she hoped would coax the painful expression off Rei’s face.  “If anyone’s at fault it’s me!  I should have been there to protect you, you have nothing to apologize for!”

The corner of the fire senshi's lip tugged upward slightly at the statement before she responded wistfully.  “I appreciate your concern however it is misplaced.  In case you have forgotten, our duty is to protect the princess, even at the cost of our lives.  With such a great duty, it would be impossible for any one person to ensure that we all returned from the battle unharmed.”

“I don’t care about that!”  Makoto blurted out with her arms flailing out, causing Rei to retreat back a step at the sheer volume of her friend’s outburst.  Seeing that she might have crossed some imaginary line, the brunette took a small step back and let one of her hand cut across her abdomen to grab her elbow.  “I mean..”  the taller girl spoke in a softer tone.  “Yeah, our duty is to protect the princess.  But Usagi-chan was so worried about you and Ami-chan when you two were kidnapped and I know that she would be incredibly distraught if anything were to happen to you… And I would be to.  I mean...”

The brunette paused to give a humorless chuckle, then turned her gaze to meet Rei’s eyes.  “Back in thirtieth century Tokyo, Neo Queen Serenity referred to me as the ‘Guardian of Protection,’ but…”  The taller girl’s arms wrapped around herself as if the last of what she was going to say would cause her to shatter and she was trying to hold all her fragmented pieces in place.  In a voice as fragile as she looked in that moment Makoto finished.  “But what good is it being the ‘Guardian of Protection’ if I can’t even protect the people dearest to me?!”

The brunette bit her lip in an attempt to prevent the tears from falling.  Helpless.  She felt so helpless.  And she hated feeling that way.  She was helpless when she was a little girl staying at a family friend’s house while her parents were away on a business trip that they would never return from.  She was Sailor Jupiter now.  The girl who can control lightning with herculean strength.  She shouldn’t have to deal with such feelings of helplessness since she should be strong enough to protect everyone right?  But she couldn’t protect Rei.  Makoto clenched her eyes shut and shook her head violently at the thoughts.

And the scene broke Rei’s heart.

Here Makoto was, bearing her soul to the miko and all Rei could do was watch as the brunette tried to hold herself together when every seam of her body was threatening to come undone.  The fortune teller struggled with how to console her friend.  How was Makoto able to chase away pain so easily?  It was almost unfair.  A hand reached out to the brunette, but the fire senshi wasn’t sure what it should reach for.  She always tried to maintain a safe distance from… well, from everyone.

_People cannot be trusted._

_The only one you can ever depend on is yourself._

Rei didn’t want to believe those things anymore.  She wanted to reach out to Makoto, to learn to trust and depend on her.  No, she wanted Makoto to trust and depend on _her_.  Or, wait, shouldn’t she want both?  Her hand reached Makoto’s shoulder and she squeezed, trying to ground herself as the rest of her errant thoughts seemed to fly off in the wind.

“Mako-chan…”  She started, soft and warm in an attempt to invite Makoto’s usually cheerful expression to return to its proper place.  The brunette’s eyes did open to face Rei’s, only to reveal the tears that hadn’t yet taken the first step to journey down the girl’s cheeks.

“Mako-chan, I am so sorry.  It was rude of me to belittle your concerns.  I am… unaccustomed to anyone looking after my welfare and am truly touched that you, as well as the others, regard me so highly, but…”  Rei paused.  This whole situation was something that the miko was unaccustomed to and she hoped that what she was saying sounded as sincere as Makoto’s own confession.  She had to tell her friend her side though.  What it meant to be her.  “But as Neo Queen Serenity said, I am the ‘Guardian of War,’ and, as such, it is in my nature to understand that the battles that we engage in not only necessitate risk, but may also necessitate sacrifice.  I did not intend to be insensitive to your feelings, but as the ‘Guardian of War’ I am simply conditioned to think in such utilitarian ways.  The protection of Princess Serenity comes before anything else…”

“Is that why you went after Black Moon alone?”

Makoto’s gaze turned serious though the trace of threatening tears remained and Rei couldn’t help but flinch at the sudden accusation.

“Ah-I…”  The miko began before berating herself for the uncharacteristic stutter.  She cleared her throat before trying again.  “I wasn’t certain that the enemy had truly arrived and...”

“Oh, come on!”

The miko stopped immediately, too in shock at the retort to even glare at Makoto for being so brusque, but the brunette was quick to backtrack.  “Er… Sorry, I… I didn’t mean it like that it’s just… I mean, you’re the girl who brags that your fortunes ‘always hit the mark.’  I mean, come on!  You tell everyone in passing that Chibi-Usa is Usagi’s ‘secret love child’ and, lo and behold, the pink-haired squirt really is our princess’ little princess!”

Makoto tried and failed to stifle the chuckle that she ended her statement with as Rei’s expression softened to the brunette’s expression.  At least Makoto seemed to be feeling better.  The moment was short lived as the lightning wielder returned her gaze to the miko.  “I’m sorry Rei.  That reaction was beyond rude, but… I mean, you’re always so confident and sure-of-yourself and everything.  Especially when it comes to your fortunes.  I guess I just didn’t think that doubt could ever get to you.”  The brunette rubbed the back of her head a little awkwardly.  “I’m sorry, that probably sounded stupid.”

“No need to apologize, I’m not offended. I…”  Rei paused.  It scared her how easy it was to open up to the girl before her and she was hesitant to open up even more than she already had.  But she wanted to be as open with Makoto as the brunette had been with her.  It was only fair.  But it was also somewhat scary.  And so different from the political and proper façade that the miko seemed required to uphold, whether at school or with her father at the annual birthday dinner.  But perhaps that’s why Rei could open up to the senshi.  Because they _were_ different.

“I suppose you’re right.  Perhaps it was not so much doubt that clouded my judgment, but… perhaps it was more wishful thinking.”

The tall girl tilted her head as if in an attempt to catch the words that were somehow blown in that direction.  Of course, the attempt was in vain and Rei could see confusion riddle the brunette’s face.  Loosing a sigh, the miko decided to explain further.

“I’m allowed to dream, right?”  Violet eyes found bright green.  “To dream of peace?”

“Uh…”  Makoto was totally confused as to where any of this was even coming from.  Who isn’t allowed to dream of peace?  Even worse is who wouldn’t?  But the expression that Rei wore told the brunette that this was a serious question, and that the miko was waiting on an answer.  “Uh, I mean, yeah!  Of course you’re allowed to dream of peace! I mean-“  the brunette interrupted herself to clear her throat before finishing with a shrug.  “Why wouldn’t you?”

A small smile seemed to threaten Rei’s lips, but not fully form.  If only things were so simple.  “Because, being the ‘Guardian of War’ I’m not sure if I could be allowed such a dream.”  The miko let her gaze drift back down to the ground before continuing.  “I had been getting premonitions that a new enemy was on their way, but we had just finished our battle against Queen Metallia and I wanted to believe that we could enjoy the peace that we had earned, if only for a moment longer.”

Rei’s smile seemed to change somehow.  The smile looked longing now, or maybe it was nostalgic.  Whatever it was, it didn’t last long, the smile began to fall as the fire senshi’s voice wafted through the air.  “I can’t help but blame myself for being so complacent.  It was foolish of me to believe that I could be a part of peace when it is my power to foresee future disaster.  How could I possibly hope for peace when all I see is a future of such devastation?”

“Because that’s not all that happens in the future.”

The sudden statement tore Rei out of her ruminations as she was met with a warm smile by her friend.  “I may not be a fortune teller like you Rei-chan, but we both saw the future, and it was peaceful until Black Moon showed up.  But they said that peace reigned for, like, a thousand years or something.  Anyway, we know that there is a peaceful future out there, and I believe that’s the future that we’re going to find.  And do you know why I believe that?”

This time Rei titled her head at her friend’s question as Makoto’s warm smile erupted into an enormous grin.  “It’s because of you! Because you’re always watching to make sure that nothing comes to disturb the peace that we’ve fought for.  You’re the reason that I’m certain that a future of peace is possible.”

“B-because of me?”  Rei asked, so taken aback that she didn’t even notice her own stuttering.

Makoto’s face returned to a soft smile before continuing.  “Yeah, because when the rest of us go on and enjoy peace, you remain vigilant so that the peace can last.  And I want you to know, I appreciate you looking out for us.”

“I…” the miko began just to clear her throat and start over.  “I appreciate the sentiment, but I am unworthy of such praise.  I was unable to stop Black Moon which ended up endangering all of you in your attempt to rescue me.”

“That doesn’t matter.”  Makoto said, voice serious to match her expression.  She let out a sigh and then began again.  “Look, I just… I trust you, and I know that you’re looking out for all of us but… but maybe, next time… well, I just want to let you know that you can count on any of us if you think something’s coming up.  You don’t have to fight alone.”

Rei felt like all the air rushed out of her lungs in that moment.  It wasn’t a demand or a request.  It was a simple fact that the miko had the choice to completely ignore or make use of, and it touched the fortune teller’s soul.  Of course, Makoto would know better than to try to demand such trust from her.  Of all the senshi, the brunette was the one that Rei had opened up to the most, even though that was very little.  But despite how little information the miko had shared, the brunette still seemed to understand.

_Kindred spirits._

Rei let out a soft giggle as she graced her friend with a warm smile.  “Thank you, however, I do find it ironic getting such advice from the very senshi who tried to fight against Mamoru-san and Furuhata-san alone.”

“Hey, that’s not fair!  How was I supposed to know that Dark Kingdom brainwashing also somehow beefed up regular people!”  Makoto exclaimed before laughing whole-heartedly.  She reigned in her laughter as a playful smirk spread across her face.  “Fine Rei-chan, you win. I’ll be sure to invite you before I go recklessly throw myself at some random enemy.”

The miko rolled her eyes as a soft chuckle escaped her lips.  “Of course, and I’ll just let you take down the enemy as I watch from the sidelines since I have learned the error of a full-frontal assault against extraterrestrial enemies.”

The boisterous brunette guffawed as she exclaimed “What you mean you won’t even flank’em if I need some backup!”

The fortune teller’s chuckles grew in volume as she informed “No, I’ll simply relay to the others that you are in need of assistance since I would hate to let such a minor detail ruin my show.”

“TAHA!!! Gee, I’m glad I've got at least ONE fan out there since everyone else seems to be fans of Sailor Moon and Sailor V.”

“What can I say, with the way you man-handled the malicious bride-sama from about a year ago, I think I would simply impede your heroics as opposed to empower them.  You do put on quite a performance.”

At this point, both girls were laughing at their full-force, one loud, light-hearted and playful while the other was a soft, light chiming.  And Makoto couldn’t help but love the sound of Rei’s laughter.  It wasn’t that soft, giggle or chuckle that was either forced or hidden in an attempt to keep up appearances.  This was the sound of Rei’s walls being chipped away, along with that political mask that she had worn all her life and feeling free enough to reveal an honest expression.  The moment made Makoto feel ridiculous for being so self-conscious about seeing the fortune teller without the others.  Of course they had hung out before.  Rei took her to that super fancy restaurant place after they first met.  Makoto had nearly forgotten that moment.  But, then again, that was before Usagi awoke as Princess Serenity and they all regained their memories of their previous lives.  After that moment, it seemed as if all their time together was required to be strictly for senshi business.  But weren’t they still allowed to be friends?

Makoto reigned in her laughter as she assessed said friend.  They _were_ friends and yet Rei always seemed so distant from all of them, but she wasn’t exactly _cold_.  No, Rei was like a flame.  A flame that one was drawn to for its light and warmth, but wouldn’t come closer than would benefit them.  Of course, in this case, it seemed more like Rei was a flame that would keep you at a distance.  As if a flame could be conscious that being too close to it was painful, but that flame still longed to share its light and warmth with everyone around it.  Makoto’s expression softened as she wondered if there were an element in this world that could actually come close enough to hold that beautiful and lonely flame without getting burned.  Could lightning exist in a flame?

“I apologize Mako-chan, but I need to return to my duties.  I do appre-“

“Huh, Wuh?  Wait!”  Makoto rushed, as soon as she snapped back to reality and realized what Rei was saying.  “I haven't asked you what I needed to!”

Rei was slightly taken aback by her friend’s reaction, but recovered quickly enough to admonish the brunette.  “Honestly?  We’ve been talking for hours and you _haven’t_  asked me what you _needed_ to?  Don’t you know how busy I am with the shrine and school?”

“I know, I know, I’m sorry!”  Makoto ranted, waving her arms in front of her to placate her friend.  “I promise, it’s just one quick question and then you can get back to work!”

The fire senshi loosed a short huff before responding fully.  “Alright fine, but if you could please try to be quick about it.  I really do have a lot to get done.”

“Oh, uh right!  Of course!”  Makoto quickly stuttered as she tried to, once again, formulate her thoughts into words.  “So there was Black Moon and you were doing that tent and you told us all to come and then you were kidnap-“

“Makoto we already went through all of this!”  The miko snapped, losing her patience.  Or maybe Makoto had spent it quite a while ago, but the priestess was too distracted to care at that point.  Man, where was an evil bride-sama when you needed one.  Seriously, Rei seemed pretty content with that distraction.

“Guh, uh, right! Well I mean when you told us that you were running that fortune teller shop I couldn’t help but think that… maybe…”  Makoto trailed off.  Yeah, this would bug her if she didn’t get an answer, but holding up Rei from her life on this random overthought curiosity suddenly seemed utterly ridiculous.  Actually, it had always felt ridiculous, but now that she was rushed to say something it felt even more so.

And Rei probably felt that everything about this situation was ridiculous with the way she tapped her foot and glared at the brunette.  “Mako!  If you do not tell me what is going on I’ll-“

“Is there something you need to tell me?!”

Makoto could only blurt out the words and stare at the silently seething miko in front of her.  Until the miko decided to seethe loudly.  “Mako-chan!  Will you stop these ridiculous games and just ask me whatever question you need to ask?!”

“Well that was it!”  The brunette shouted in response before elaborating.  “You were telling us that we should come visit and that your fortunes hit the mark and you winked at me and you were so excited, I mean, you!  Excited!  And I just got the feeling that… maybe… you actually wanted... to tell me something... without the others around... but I... didn’t…”

Makoto’s voice had grown softer and softer until it simply ceased to exist.  She totally was overthinking this.  This was stupid.  She was stupid.  Seriously, if Rei wanted to tell her something she would just say so right?  So why was Makoto running around asking pointless questions and making an utter idiot of herself?

“You know what, forget it.  It was stupid and I’m sorry for wasting your time.  Have a goo-“

“Wait!”

Before Makoto could turn and leave the miko managed to grab the brunette’s hand.  Both seemed surprised by the current situation as Rei tried to calm herself down.  She hadn’t expected the brunette to bring that up again, she had simply thought that she would forget about it since the fortune teller was kidnapped before she could act on that subtle miscue.  And, regardless, she couldn’t let her friend go on such a sullen note, she had to fix this.

“I…”  Rei cleared her throat as she tried again.  “I apologize for my behavior, I’ve simply been under a lot of stress. Please, don’t leave yet.”

Makoto turned back to face her friend feeling incredibly confused at the sudden change in her friend’s demeanor.  “Uh… okay… You alright?”

Rei paused, and was suddenly hyper-aware that her hand was still grasping Makoto’s.  She quickly retracted the appendage as she dropped her head to try to let her hair hide the blush that she knew was coming.  This was worse than when Ami and Usagi had brought the first birthday present that the miko had ever received from any kind of friend.  Of course, she shattered the music box-lamp to pieces when she found out it was possessed, but she still appreciated the sentiment.  Oh, and she also destroyed Makoto’s, so she probably owes her another music box… or should she get her a new lamp?  The priestess shook her head hoping that would help the blush fall off her face and land anywhere, but where it currently dusted her cheeks.

“I apologize, I’m fine, thank you.  I-“  Rei took in a deep breath to regain her composure before she returned to her friend.  “I apologize.  I shouldn’t have rushed you or made you think less of yourself by belittling your concerns.  Please, forgive me.”

“Huh, oh uh, yeah.  Of course, Rei-chan!  No worries.”  Makoto scratched the back of her head and chuckled awkwardly.  “You sure your good?”

The miko returned the warm smile to its place as she hummed an affirmative answer.  “Yes, I just…”  Rei paused.  Was she really going to tell Makoto this?  She couldn’t completely hide from her boisterous friend.  Lightning illuminates all truth, even if it only lasts for a split second.  And she wouldn’t let the brunette leave with that hurt expression that she had just had.  With a deep sigh she finally confessed, “You were right, Mako-chan… There was something else that I… wished to tell you that I didn’t want the others to know…”

The brunette’s face lit up at the confession.  “You mean, that wasn’t all in my head?  That was real?!”

The miko rolled her eyes at her friend’s comment.  “Yes, that was real.”

“Sweet!”  Makoto cheered as she suddenly felt lighter at knowing the truth.  “So, what did you want to tell me?”

This was a mistake.  This was a terrible mistake.  Yes, Rei wanted to tell Makoto something, but she didn’t want to be so bold as to say it outright.  One, full-frontal assaults never turn out well and two, this was a subject that the fortune teller was even less familiar with than friendship.  Of course, she wasn’t even sure how the lightning wielder would react if she just told her the truth outright anyways.  Of course… she could try to… improvise.

“I, er…” the miko began, trying to formulate a plan as to how she might be able to both give her friend an answer without it being the full answer.  “I had a… fire fortune rite… that revealed the person you would…. fall in love with… and…”

“OMIGOSH!!! REI-CHAN!!! Why didn’t you tell me sooner?! Who is it!? Who IS it?!  WHO IS IT?!”

Yes, this was definitely a mistake.  Especially mentioning the love bit to Makoto.  But she was in this too deep to ignore her friend’s pleas.  Eyes gazing across the shrine’s grounds as if the answer may be somewhere on the premises Rei quickly tried to calm her friend’s excitement while answering her question.  “I-I don’t know, they didn’t look familiar to me!”  The miko said in a half-truth.  No one could really _look_ familiar in a rite that never happened.

Makoto’s expression dropped immediately upon hearing that and Rei couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt shoot through her.  “But, I did… hear… something… during the rite…”  the miko had to flinch at her own story.  Seriously she really hoped that Makoto didn’t know much about how these fortunes worked because this artificial account was absolutely abysmal to the young fortune teller.

“Really?  What was it?!”

Rei had to stop and assess her friend for a moment.  Was she really that naïve?  Or did this immediate response come from trust instead?  A trust that the miko was possibly ruining with this stupid game of hers.  Still, she knew exactly what she was going to say at this moment, it was just a matter of voicing the words.

“You will only find a love that lasts if you look in the place you wouldn’t seek it.”

A silence enveloped the two of them as Makoto raised a hand to her chin to complete a contemplative expression as Rei simply watched for any kind of indication that Makoto would see through her ruse.  Eventually the brunette dropped her arms and turned her gaze to the fortune teller.  “That’s it?”

Rei gave a curt nod but said nothing in response.  The silence continued for a moment, until Makoto fell to her knees, grabbed Rei’s waist and wailed.  “REI-CHAN!!!! That’s so MEAN!!!  I mean, how am I supposed to find my love if he’s only somewhere I wouldn’t look?!  What if he’s somewhere I can’t get to on my bike?!  You KNOW I’m TERRIFIED of airplanes!!! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?!?!?!?!”

“Mako-chan.  Mako-chan, please!  MAKO-CHAN!”

That final snap had gotten through to the grief-stricken brunette as she looked up from her position on the ground, still pouting at the new-found tragedy that is her life.  Rei let out a sigh before she reassured Makoto.  “I’m sure that the person you love is closer to you than that.  You believe so yourself, right?”

The brunette paused to think for a moment.

_The wind… guided me directly to this place._

That’s right!  This was where her destiny was, so by extension her love must also be here somewhere.  After all, love had to be a part of her destiny too, she just wasn’t looking in the right places for it!

The bounding brunette bounced up to her feet and gave Rei a crushing bear hug.  “Oh, thank you Rei-chan!  Thank you!  Anyway, I better head.  I’ve got a future husband to look for now!”

And with that Makoto rushed off, completely forgetting their earlier discussion of running being prohibited on the shrine’s grounds, leaving behind a slightly dumbstruck miko in her wake.  Rei only managed to shake her head with an exasperated sigh before she got back to her sweeping.

Of course, Rei couldn’t admit to Makoto that she was the one that truly cared for her.  That she had remembered her from their previous lives even before they had gotten all their memories back.  That the very environment always felt so empty without the brunette’s presence and that Rei had finally found someone she felt that she could trust for once.

But the words that Makoto used.  “He.”  “Husband.”  There was no way Makoto would have any interest in her no matter how many lifetimes they found each other in.  Perhaps the brunette will find out the truth behind the fortune, but Rei couldn’t bother to hope that things would work out in her favor.  All the priestess had the courage to do was give the lightning senshi a cryptic message that could act as a form of confession.  It was vague enough that it would basically work for whoever Makoto ended up with and yet true enough to Rei’s feelings that she could feel that she had at least tried.  But, what if Makoto managed to figure it out?  That Makoto would never look for love with another woman, but Rei would be there for her lifetime after lifetime.  Even if Rei couldn’t be her husband, that wouldn’t cause her to love Makoto any less…

Of course, perhaps Rei wasn’t the best person for Makoto either.  Maybe, the big-hearted brawler would be better off if she found some guy, or really anyone other than her…

Rei shook the thoughts out of her head.  There was no point in dwelling on it.  And it was too late for regrets.  For better or worse, she told Makoto what it was she wanted to say.  All she could do now was watch and wait for how her phony, love-stricken fortune would affect the life of her dear friend.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I wasn't sure if I was going to continue with this story since it didn't get that many reviews, but, given that I could count all the MakoRei fics on one hand, I figured I may as well keep this going. Seriously, this is probably my most favorite pairing and since I've thought up a bunch of content with them I may as well keep this going. Anyways, thanks to all of you who read and kudos(ed?) on the first chapter. Please enjoy.

It was a fairly slow day at the Crown Fruits Parlor, with the few customers that stopped by quickly leaving as soon as their order came to hand.  Probably busy with school, or jobs, or really whatever every other middle schooler happened to have going on in their lives.  Of course, the tall brunette who was scanning over a mess of maps and notes scattered across her table really wasn’t paying attention to the bustling business of her favorite drink shop.  No, right now, all her attention was focused on the papers in front of her and how they may lead her to something she had dreamed of all her life.  She was poised rigidly, scrutinizing the sorry documents with sharp eyes narrowed, a pencil circling certain areas and taking notes in scribbles that would only be legible to her, while the fingers on her left hand gently cradled a long cigarette that completed her serious demeanor.

“YOINK!!!”  The loud exclamation came as the studious brunette snapped to attention, immediately noticing the lack of her cigarette and looking for the culprit that would so brazenly announce such a theft.  Hearing stifled giggles behind her, the faux detective sunk her knees into the booth’s cushions and spun a complete 180 degrees to come face to face with the criminal who was playfully twirling the cigarette in their fingers.  The display caused the flustered woman to thrust her arms at the culprit who stood just out of reach from the younger brunette’s flailing arms as she cried over the backrest of her seat.

“Dammit Unazuki-chan!  What are you doing?!  Give it back!”

A playful laughter filled the near empty drink shop as the bored waitress simply winked at the tall woman’s antics.  “Not gunna happen Mako-chan.  I’m your sempai and, as such, I find it my duty to prevent you from picking up such horrid habits.”  The self-proclaimed role model announced as she brought the cigarette to her lips to take in the wonderful chocolatey flavor that lay hidden within the plain wrapper.  Emerald eyes widened at the exquisite taste causing the young woman to address her friend again.  “Wow Mako-chan!  This is delicious!  Where did you get these?”

Unazuki didn’t notice the cigarette had drawn closer to the younger woman’s reach as she spoke until the middle schooler managed to swipe her prize back from the waitress while answering back.  “Tsk, please!  Why would I bother buying chocolates when I can make my own that are ten times better!”

The younger brunette quickly slouched back into her booth seat as she heard the other brunette’s laugh ring out from behind her.  Makoto had returned the cigarette to her mouth, but it only sagged disappointingly given the distinct lack of filling that had been used to give the confection it’s shape.  Which, comparing to Unazuki's chocolate theft, the loss of her serious sleuth demeanor was much more worrisome to the young brawler.  Seriously!  How was she supposed to figure out Rei’s cryptic riddling without being in her awesome detective mode!

The mirthful waitress, being completely oblivious to Makoto’s plight walked past the booth to be beside the younger brunette.  “I should have figured you’d make your own.  You must make the life of whoever you give your Valentine’s Day chocolate to.”  The younger brunette rolled her eyes as her friend moved to sit in the booth across from her, raising an eyebrow at the sorry mess of papers scattered across the table.  “What’s all this?”

Makoto sighed as her body posture fell to convey the complete defeat she felt at having her determination broken, giving the helplessness time to settle in.  She wasn’t going to figure this out on her own, she knew that.  So, there was no shame in asking for help… right?

“I-it’s… I just…”  Makoto sighed again before gazing into matching emerald eyes that were part of a warm smile, finding comfort in the gesture, the guardian of courage pressed on.  “I was told that I’d only find love in the place I wasn’t looking…”

“I see…” the young waitress mused as she ran her fingers over various circles and x marks that littered the map in front of her.  “So, someone has you playing scavenger hunt for the love of your life huh?”

“You’re telling me!”  Makoto practically shouted.  “I’ve been running around all over the Azabu Juban district for weeks now and nothing’s been turning up!”

“Maybe the person who gave you this riddle was simply messing with you.”

“No way!”  The powerful brunette denied as a fist came down on the table.  The sight of Unazuki’s flinch caused the thunder senshi’s eyes to widen in shock at her own actions before throwing her gaze downward to avoid her friend’s.  “Sorry… it’s just…”

The brunette let the words float for a little bit until Unazuki got the sense that Makoto wouldn’t say much more without being pressed to.  “It’s fine Mako-chan.  Really.  I just don’t want you tearing yourself up over someone’s stupid prank.”

A sigh escaped Makoto’s lips before turning her gaze back to her friend.  “Yeah, I get it.  And I do appreciate it, but… well…Rei-chan’s not like that.”

“Rei-chan…” the waitress repeated softly as if trying to taste the name in her mouth to decide if it was acceptable or not.  “Ah, she’s the TA Academy student that was running the fortune teller tent a while back, wasn’t she?”

Makoto was slightly taken aback that Unazuki remembered that much about her friend since Rei had probably not gone back to Crown Fruits since the brunette had invited them all to get together there.  Of course, news about her disappearance was monumental amongst the middle schoolers so the rumors probably made the priestess a bit more memorable.  “Yeah, that’s her.”  Makoto affirmed.  “She told me that my fortune was that I’d find the love that lasts forever in the place I wasn’t looking.  Her predictions are always spot on, and she’s not one for pranks.  And besides…”

The brunette stopped herself, not sure if she wanted to confess this last point to her friend, although the waitress chose to press her.  “Besides what?”

“I mean…” Makoto rushed in the words before sighing hugging her elbows as she slouched forward, chocolate cigarette long forgotten and left on the table sometime during the conversation.  “Rei-chan knows that this is too important to me to lie about it…”  At least, Makoto hoped so.  Sure, the shrine maiden may not be the greatest advocate for love, but that didn’t mean she would tease the brunette’s heart with a lie like that, right?

The tall woman groaned as she let her head fall against the table so that she could stare at her own indistinct handwriting on the worn-down atlas.  What if Rei really did do this just as some twisted joke to embarrass her for wanting love so badly?

“Well, if Rei-chan isn’t the issue…” the hopeful brawler immediately raised her head towards the pensive musings of her friend.  “Then perhaps the fortune is true, but you’re simply just looking at it the wrong way.”

Makoto’s face scrunched up in thought before giving up on thinking through it on her own.  “What do you mean by that?”

“Well, I mean…”  the older brunette paused, taking the maps into her hand as evidence to emphasize her point.  “Thus far, you’ve been looking for the person you love in places that you haven’t been to or looked for it, right?”

“Um… yeah...” the middle school student affirmed, not seeing where her friend could possibly be going with this ‘reinterpretation’ thing.

“Well, perhaps it’s not the _places_ that you’ve been overlooking love in, but the _people_.”

The two looked at each other for a moment, the creaking gears of Makoto’s mind could be heard in the deathly silence that overtook them before the light bulb above the younger brunette’s head began to slowly fizzle to life with light.  “So…”  Makoto drawled, making sure all the pieces were in place in her mind before she laid her cards on the table.  “My love that lasts forever… it’s not that…” she paused again, slowly working her way through the implications of what Unazuki had suggested, not entirely sure if she liked where it was going.  “It’s not that I haven’t found love in the right place… but instead that… that I haven’t sought love with the right… person?”

The waitress shrugged, giving Makoto’s elongated thought process a very disproportionate reaction.  “That’s my guess at least.”

“But… But that would mean…!”  The flustered brunette stuttered as the implications of this new finding scratched threateningly at the front of her mind.  “That would mean I’ve already met my true love then!”

“Yep.”  Unazuki nonchalantly replied, not sensing a need to elaborate.

“That’s insane!”  Makoto cried as her arms flailed to either side of her.  “I mean, seriously!  Who could I possibly know that would-”

The brunette never got to finish the thought as they were suddenly interrupted by a bell chiming to signify the arrival of another guest.  Unazuki rose in a flustered hurry to try to greet the customer without appearing to be lazing on the job, however the worry drained from her when she noticed who it was.

“Ah, Asanuma-kun!  It’s so good to see you again!”

Makoto practically jumped out of her seat at the announcement of who was their new arrival.  “Asanuma-kun!  What’s up!?  Where have you been?!”

The boy in question seemed to get immediately flustered at the sight of the tall brunette.  He gave an awkward bow as he rambled, “I’m so sorry!  I didn’t mean to bother the two of you!  I’ll let you get back to what you were doing!  BYE!!!” and then bolted back out the door.

“Hey!  WAIT!!!”  But Makoto’s outstretched hand and plea to the young boy came too late to garner any of the skittish customer’s attention.  Makoto groaned and slumped back in her seat, muttering about the stupid, squirrely, little dork.

Unazuki simply chuckled at the display before turning her attention back to the misbegotten brunette.  “Well, he sure seemed scared of you.  I didn’t think you’d go so far as to bully little kôhai like that Mako-chan.”

“I didn’t do anything!”  The brunette exclaimed, completely ignoring the playful tone that the waitress used to try to convey the joke.  “I swear, that kid’s been avoiding me since I got sick with that super virus and it’s getting incredibly annoying!  I mean, come one!  I thought we were friends.”

Unazuki couldn’t help but smirk at the door that Asanuma had just escaped through.  Poor kid was completely red at the sight of Mako-chan.  “Maybe he’s more than just that.”

“WHAT!?!?!”  Makoto practically screamed while grabbing the back of her booth to ensure she didn’t fall over.  “Oh nononononononononono!!!  We’re just friends!  There’s no way that Asanuma-kun likes me like that!”

Unazuki looked at the younger brunette over her shoulder and threw her a wink before walking away to get back to work, leaving Makoto a parting message.  “You’ll never know if you don’t try.”

Makoto’s cheeks flared brighter than Mars’ Burning Mandala as she slumped back into her seat, crossed her arms and pouted.  There was no way Asanuma liked her like that!  Heck, there was no way any _one_ of her friends would feel that way about her.  It was impossible!  No way, no way, no wa-

Wait… what time was it again.

Makoto stole a glance at her wristwatch only to trigger an immediate panic.  She was going to be late!

She quickly scooped up all her maps and notes and jammed them violently into her school bag, not bothering to close it completely in her haste.

“Bye Unazuki-chan!”  The brunette shouted as she bolted past the waitress and out the door, a paper falling out of her bag.  She didn’t bother checking to see if her friend heard her farewell or look back at her fallen cargo, the warrior of courage had bigger things to worry about.

Like, what Rei would do to her for her tardiness.

* * *

It was the perfect place for reading a good book.

Well other than the cheers of those who dominated the games, the cusses of those who didn’t have better fine motor skills to excel as well, and the pinging and booming of the various machines that elicited such excitement or despair from the frequent visitors, but, to Ami, anywhere was the perfect place to read a good book.  And since this was the place that her friends chose as their meeting point, it was the only place she could think to be.

Which meant that she was there forty minutes before the agreed upon time, but that simply gave her plenty of time to emerge fully in her chosen literature as she attuned herself to the noise so that it wasn’t as distracting as it could’ve been.  And she wouldn't have to worry about losing track of time when she was right were she needed to be.

“Good afternoon, Ami-chan.”

The bookworm immediately snapped back to the noisy arcade.  “Oh!  Hello Rei-chan!  I apologize I didn’t see you come in.”

The miko rolled her eyes as a playful smirk tugged at her lips.  “So I noticed,” the firebrand replied as she pulled a chair from one of the games to seat herself across from the bluenette.  “I can’t help but feel somewhat guilty for robbing your book of its audience.”

“Oh!  No!”  The bookworm cried as she moved her book behind her to let her friend know that the she would be granted her full attention.  “I’m almost finished!  And besides, I can always read later, but it’s been awhile since we could all meet as a group!”

Rei gave the shy girl a warm smile.  “I suppose it has been a while...” the words were barely audible from the shrine maiden as the attention she gave her own statement was robbed by the very book that Ami was fixated on.  “What were you reading this time?”

“Oh!  Well…”  The bluenette quickly retrieved the plain book and handed it to her friend.  Rei took the object and began flipping through it noting what it was that had captured Ami’s interest so.  “Atavism?”

“That’s right.”  The bookworm affirmed, her expression turning serious at the word.  “You saw today’s news report, didn’t you?”

“I did…”  The miko affirmed as her thumb idly pressed the pages to flip past her before closing the book and returning it to Ami.  “Why bring it up?”

“Well…”  the bluenette sighed as her thumb and forefinger pinched the bridge of her nose.  She brought her eyes back to Rei’s gaze as she reasoned aloud, “It seems to be a highly unlikely event.  However, so did spontaneous combustion and UFO landings, but when those occurred-”

“You think there’s a new enemy?”  The priestess interrupted as the bluenette held her gaze.

“It’s too soon to jump to that conclusion.  We only have one case of this occurrence so it may simply be that statistical anomaly that at least one person would have that condition occur naturally.  However…”

“You have your doubts?”

Ami’s gaze fell to the book in her lap.  “I’m… just trying to be more proactive… just in case…”

“I… see…” the soft and broken a statement wafted in the air as the miko let her gaze drift to the floor.  Both became lost in comprehending the full meaning of their conversation that they didn’t notice the growing crowd of people coming into the arcade.

And Rei had become noticeably agitated.  Could a new enemy already be approaching?  And what about her dream of the three talisman?

The Miko checked her wristwatch.

They were late.

Sure, Minako and Usagi were always late, but Mako-chan always made sure to be on time.

What if the new enemy already got to her?

Her worries were immediately alleviated when she saw the brunette barrel through the sliding doors only to barely avoid colliding with one of the customers.  The brawler juked around the wayward gamer only to be on a collision course with another.  She deftly spun out of the way only to end up getting pushed into one of the arcade games.  When did all those people show up anyway?

The thunder senshi’s fist slammed against the game in frustration before it was used to vault on top of the arcade game, using the machines to jump over the crowds of gamers.  She leapt off, landed in a roll and came to a screeching halt in front of her two friends.

“Sorry I’m late!” the brunette cried as she bowed deeply to the two women who were before her.  The bluenette was going to assure her that it was no problem at all, but was beaten to the punch by the firebrand who rose to her feet.

“As you should be!  Mako-chan, I understand this irresponsibility from Usagi-chan or Mina-chan, but not you.  I expected better from you!”

“I know Rei-chan!  I’m sorry!”  The desperate cry came before the pleading rationalization followed.  “Look!  I was at Crown Fruits doing research and I lost track of the time and I got here as fast as I could and againI’msorrypleasedon’tkillme!!!”

The miko gave a sigh before turning her gaze back to the shrinking brunette.  “What kind of research were you doing anyway?”

“I… uh… well…”  the muttered jumble of words tumbled out from behind the book bag that Makoto had chosen to use as a barrier between her and Rei’s wrath.  Of course, she should have known that the contents within her makeshift shield would be her undoing as she heard Ami’s soft voice from beside her.

“Mako-chan, is this yours?”

Before the brunette could cry out and grab it, the miko snatched it from the bluenette’s hand as her eyes scoured the crinkled mess, though, she decided against looking at it for much longer after reading the message ‘Pharmacist:  Unazuki was right about him being a looker!  Of course, he’s already married.  Aw… I wanna be a bride!!!’

"BAKA!!!" Rei crinkled the paper into a ball and threw it at the book bag that protected Makoto’s head.  "We finally have the chance to meet together _as a team_ , and  _you're_ coming late because you’re wasting time with BOYFRIEND-HUNTING!?!?!”

“It’s not a waste of time!”  The brunette fired back.  “I mean, sure, I haven’t had much luck yet, but your fortune said I’ll find the love that lasts forever!  And your fortunes are always accurate! So why shouldn’t I spend my free time looking for him?!”

“Because _he_ doesn’t-”

“INCOMING!!!!!!”

The statement went unfinished as both heads turned towards a blonde bullet barreling forward.  Makoto turned fully to face the projectile of a person who collided with the brunette, causing her book bag to fly out of her hand and scatter her ‘research’ notes everywhere.

“Ah, Mina-chan, how nice of you to join us.  I was just informing Mako-chan of-”

The blonde shook her head violently as the droning of their firebrand buzzed around her.  Geez, what was with that girl and lecturing?  She had to come up with a distraction and fast.  Conveniently, the dazed brunette that was trying to squirm her way out from underneath the blonde could provide the most perfect escape.

“Ugh… Mina-chan… what are you-”

“Mako-chan!  It’s so good to see you!!!”  The love senshi beamed over-enthusiastically as she awkwardly hugged the struggling brawler, ignoring how rigid Makoto went at the hug.  She quickly grabbed the thunder senshi’s upper arm as she continued her cheery rant.  “Come on!  Amano-kun told me that they just got this awesome new game here and I’ve just been dying to play it with someone!”

“Huh?  Uh, right!” the brunette answered as she was half-dragged and half-stumbled away from the fire senshi’s ire.  A fire senshi who was not very pleased with the two’s antics.

“Excuse me!  Where do you think you are going?!”

“Sorry!  Gotta check out this game!  Leader’s orders!” the brunette managed to call over her shoulder before disappearing into the arcade crowd.

The war senshi groaned into her palm.  Why, oh why did their senshi order of misfits have to comprise of irresponsible nit-wits with no sense of obligation?  Honestly, between her and Ami the others were simply more of a headache than Rei was willing to endure.

“So… you gave Mako-chan a love fortune?”

The shrine maiden turned her head to glare at the bluenette.  Scratch that last thought, Rei could do just fine without Ami too.

The guardian of wisdom seemed to be completely oblivious to the firebrand’s ire at her as the bookworm had turned her attention to an enthusiastic voice that trilled through the arcade.

“I’m here!!!”

The bluenette got up to face their newly arrived princess fully as her voice took a playful lilt.  “You’re late! I read this whole book while I was waiting.”

The miko was beside herself at being ignored by _every single senshi_ in their outfit.  With Usagi newly arrived, it provided her the perfect target to vent her sour mood onto.  “Well, _I_ knew Usagi would be the last one in.”

“You’re terrible, Rei-chan!” the odangoed blonde cried as she struggled not to take the words too personally, though looking around she realized that two heads were missing in their troupe.  “Say, where are the others?”

“They went that way to play a new game.”  Ami dutifully informed their errant royalty, pointing into the thickest part of the crowd.  “Do you mind finding them for us?”

“Ami-chan…” the miko growled in a warning tone.

“Roger that Ami!” the blonde saluted before rushing into the crowd.

“Usagi, wait!!!” the shrine maiden called out on deaf ears as twin blonde buns buoyed through the sea of arcade patrons.  And with Rei’s current victim’s escape she was left to turn her ire back on Ami.

“What was that about?” she growled out towards the small bluenette as the bookworm turned to look at her innocently.

“What was what about?”

The evenness of the girl’s tone made Rei’s blood boil.  “You know exactly what!  Now Usagi’s going to get dragged into whatever stupid game Makoto and Mina have randomly decided to make the center of their focus and we’ll get nothing accomplished!  I thought you said there was an enemy approaching!”

“Correction, I said it was a possibility.  We have no evidence that this ‘atavism’ event is connected to any kind of enemy, nor do we have any leads to investigate this potential threat.”  Crystal blue eyes locked onto amethyst to convey the bluenette’s conviction in her decision.  She turned her gaze towards the sea of people where the other three disappeared to before her voice became more downcast.  “However, if this is a new enemy, then this may be our last moment of peace for a while Rei-chan.  We might as well let them enjoy it, no matter how fleeting it may end up being.”

The words seemed to sober the shrine maiden slightly, however the martian warrior was not willing to surrender just yet.  “I understand that Ami-chan, really I do, but the longer we wait the greater the risk that the enemy wins.  They won’t wait for us to enjoy our peace before they-”

“You don’t understand…”  The words were barely a mumble, yet they were enough to cut the miko’s thoughts short as blue eyes gazed accusingly into Rei’s own.  “You weren’t there Rei-chan…”

The shrine maiden paused for a moment, uncertain as to how she was supposed to respond until the answer gradually came to her.  “This is about Black Moon isn’t it.”

A nod in affirmation was all Rei got as silence settled amongst them for a moment, stuck in a battle between their own stubbornness until eventually, the bluenette’s gaze fell.  “It was hard on us Rei-chan.  I don’t know what it was like after I was taken, but your loss shook the team greatly.”

The shrine maiden was silent.  A part of her doubted that her loss was all that traumatizing to the rest of her teammates in any way other than the realization that their powers failed to make them invincible, but she wasn’t willing to speak that part of her mind.  Instead she chose to voice another doubt she’d had about that incident.  “If I’d only acted sooner-”

“Rei, stop.”  The voice came stern yet calm.  “It wouldn’t have made a difference.  No matter how we acted, there was nothing we could do about an enemy that crossed space-time to attack us.  We had no means of approaching that enemy until Chibi-Usa opened up to us.  Any action before that would have been futile.”

The miko watched as the bookworm’s face fell from serious to sullen before feeling the guilt of causing such distress upon the only friends she’s ever known.  She let out a sigh before doing what she knew was supposed to be so commonplace amongst such friends.  “I… I apologize Ami-chan…”

The bluenette turned to offer the fire senshi a warm smile.  “Don’t worry about it Rei-chan.  We all know that everything you do is to keep us safe.”

The miko’s gaze dropped as she mumbled a ‘thank you’ to the bookworm before her eye caught sight of one of the forgotten papers that scattered the ground with Makoto’s trials of love.  She reached out for the one closest to her and began inspecting it.

What she found was a map, with circles, crosses, arrows, notes.  It was an incredibly detailed account on where Makoto had sought out love, descriptions of the potential lover, the inevitable let-down.  Rei wouldn’t admit how much it hurt knowing that Makoto was turning every stone in Japan to look for her love when the shrine maiden was _right there_ , hoping to be given the chance to show the thunder senshi that she would willingly give everything in her power to ensure that she could make Makoto the happiest woman alive.  That she could offer her anything any guy could if she were just given half the chance.

Or, she would at least try.

_If I were to love… I might end up destroying that person._

She should’ve stuck to her vow then.  Refused to love.  Kept her stupid feelings to herself instead of being some selfish, love-sick idiot by trying to use some stupid riddle to slyly confess her feelings to the thunder senshi.

It didn’t matter.  Makoto was looking for a guy.  Actually, from the look of her notes, she was literally looking for _any_ guy.  And Rei wasn’t sure if she should feel guiltier that her fortune had spurred Makoto to get turned down by over a dozen guys in the past week, or that, despite getting turned down, the brunette continued to try to find the right one because she had _so much faith_ in that stupid fortune.

Rei didn’t do anything to protect Makoto.  In fact, if any of these guys affect the brawler the same way that her sempai had, the fortune teller may end up causing her friend more unnecessary anguish than anything else.

“Rei-chan…?”  The bluenette softly prodded, noticing the thick silence that had taken over since the miko had inspected their friend’s self-assigned project.

“YOU’RE KIDDING!!! HOW COOL!!!!!”

The two remaining senshi snapped their heads in unison as they recognized the voices of Makoto’s and Minako’s fangirling.  The bluenette rolled her eyes, the miko sighed and they both worked their way through the crowd towards their remaining friends.

* * *

 

“That’s him!  It says he’s a race car driver!  Ten’ô Haruka!”

Naru pointed to the picture of the popular figure to prove to her odangoed friend that they had just been in the presence of a celebrity.  Of course, Makoto glanced a peek at the magazine, looking over her friend’s head, while Minako climbed up the seat of the Battle Lap game to get a better view of the photo and eavesdrop on the gossip.

“Really?!  He’s an actual racer?  No wonder he was so good!”

“He went from the prefectural Jûban High and just transferred to Mugen Academy!”

The two wayward friends huddled back together behind the game’s replica car seat as they floated down the river of celebrity daydreams.

“I wonder if he comes to Jûban Shopping District often?”

“Maybe we’ll see him again!”

The two suddenly blinked out of their reverie to look at each other and notice the blushing faces they both sported.  The brunette awkwardly stumbled back and stuttered something incoherent as the love senshi sported a devious smirk.  “You’ve got a crush on Ten’ô Haruka!”

The blushing brawler raised a hand to her face, about to try to hide her reddening cheeks before deciding that she’d rather fight with the idol hunter than hide from her.  “Yeah!  Well, so do you!”

The blonde waved her hand dismissively in response.  “Psh, puh-lease.  I may be crushing on him, but I’m not bothered by little things like that!  Unlike a certain brunette I know.”

The taller girl was taken aback by that comment.  The brazen shamelessness of the statement short-circuited her thoughts.  She needed to come up with some sort of come back!  “Y-yeah, w-well-”

“Hey, we found you!”

The two love-struck women turned towards the voice to see Ami and Rei approaching them, the bluenette sporting a friendly smile towards the pair while the miko seemed a bit more annoyed with the situation.

“Oh, hey girls!”  The blonde called out as she waved them down.  “Didn’t think you’d fight your way through this crowd.”

“Pft, what crowd?” the shrine maiden huffed.  “They all cleared out just a moment ago.  I’m surprised you two didn’t disappear with them all.”

The blonde looked around for what must have been the first time since throwing the race car helmet on Usagi’s head before it dawned on her.  “They were all here because of Haruka!  Quick!  We need to follow them!”

But before the jumpy blonde could dash for the exit the fiery shrine maiden managed to grab her by the collar.  “Oh no, you don’t!  Honestly, why would you need to follow that rabble?!”

“Because Ten’ô-san’s a celebrity Rei-chan!” the teenager whined as she continued to flail within the miko’s grip.  “It’s common wisdom Rei-chan.  When a celebrity goes roamin’ you must go where the roamin’ goes!”

The three other senshi went silent for a moment as they dwelled on Mina’s statement, not sure if they should even take that comment seriously.  However, Makoto decided that she had to speak up, at least to get back at Minako.

“You know, it’s a good thing that you don’t have to act as a body double for Ami-chan, ‘cuz I don’t think anyone would mistake you for a Guardian of Wisdom with comments like that.”

The aspiring pop idol halted her struggling against the fire senshi’s grip to turn on the strongest fighter in their group.  “Excuse me!  What’s that supposed to mean?!”

“It means that your words of wisdom are wonderful indicators of the scores you receive on your school exams.”  Rei added, causing a snicker to rise from the brunette and the blonde to turn her ire against the war senshi.  The actual Guardian of Wisdom, however, decided she ought to step in before the conversation got a little _too_ out of hand.

“Come now everyone, there’s no need to think less of Mina-chan’s wisdom just because it’s not as well-known, for Kierkegaarde has explained that as people living in an ever-changing world, we could never have an understanding of true wisdom since such a thing would be eternal and never-ending, which is contradictory to the world in which we live in.”

The bookworm gave a brief pause to allow them to voice their own opinions on the subject despite knowing that Makoto wouldn’t out of lack of comprehension while Rei wouldn’t out of lack of patience.

“Uh… er… right!” the hyperactive blonde stuttered to exclaim as she feigned understanding.  “You see, I got the Guardian of Wisdom on my side on this one!”

“However,” the bluenette began and turned on her friend to convey the seriousness behind this next statement.  “I do agree that your grades could be far better than what you have been receiving and, as a potential high school candidate, you must be more diligent in your studies to ensure that you can advance to high school in the next year.”

The cheerful expression slowly dropped from the blonde until it fell into a face of sheer hopelessness.  “Ami-chan!  Why do you have to bring up such depressing things now of all times!!!”

“It’s important to start our studies early so that we can adequately focus on subjects that we may struggle in and master those subjects ahead of time, as opposed to cramming it in at the last minute and hoping for the best…”

The blonde continued to bawl at the bluenette's rationalizations as Makoto started rubbing the back of her head and hiding her embarrassed chuckles with coughs.  Not that either avoided the miko’s analytical gaze.  They all had been friends long enough to know that Rei and Ami were the only two who did consistently well in school, the two of them earning high reputations within their respective schools for excelling academically.  Sure, Ami may have gotten consistent perfect scores, but Rei still had an impressive streak to her name.  Of course, none of the other three senshi were even close to passing based on their usual exam scores.

They were definitely going to have their work cut out for them this year.

“Usagi?”

The four senshi turned towards Naru’s voice, sensing that something had to be wrong as they saw the Legendary Silver Crystal reacting to something.  Suddenly, one of the pedestrians walking by spawned a daimon that began to attack anyone in sight.

“Everybody transform!”

A sequence of cries rang through the senshi that signaled the flashes of lights and elements to complete their transformations, with Sailor Moon at the front, announcing that the Sailor Guardians would challenge the foe.

The daimon seemed completely oblivious to the newly arrived super heroines as it continued to lash out at any passerby within reach.  Mercury and Mars stood back and took note of the monster’s behaviors, formulating a plan on the best line of attack.

Of course, Venus and Jupiter weren’t going to wait to go on the aggressive as they charged forward to attack.  After a quick Venus Wink Chain Sword and Jupiter Coconut Cyclone the daimon dispersed, leaving behind the unconscious form of the Mugen student who had housed the monster.

* * *

 

“What was that thing?!”

“How did that thing possess that girl?”

“Are there more of those creatures lurking in other people?  How are we supposed to tell who?”

The five girls silenced their questionings after that one.  If this was some new enemy, how would they be able to tell who had been ‘infected’ with one of these creatures and who was ‘safe?’  With the senshi quieted down, Luna used the moment to voice her own ideas.

“You saw this morning’s news, didn’t you?  The piece about atavism, of a person who transformed into a monster and attacked others.  And I believe that was a Mugen Academy student too.”

Another silence fell over the senshi as they took stock of this latest information.

“This smells real fishy.” the guardian of wisdom voiced, cutting through the silence.  “Mugen Academy and atavism?”

“It looks like we need to investigate Mugen Academy.”  The senshi leader responded, gaze panning across the faces of her followers and princess.  They all held the same stern look that gazed back at the blonde.

“Well, what are we waiting for?” the brawler voiced from the back of the command center.  “Let’s get going.”

“I wouldn’t recommend it now.” the Miko interjected.  “By the time we got to the delta, it would be too late to visit without drawing suspicion.”

“Tomorrow then.” the princess rose to face her guardians.  “First thing after classes end, we meet here and go straight to Mugen as soon as everyone’s gathered.”

The senshi all looked to each other before nodding in affirmation towards their princess.

“We’ll continue to do what we can to research both atavism and the academy.”  Luna informed the group before turning to her feline companion who spoke next.  “We’ll be sure to inform you of what we find before you head out, however there’s not much more we can do now.  All of you should get your rest, tomorrow’s bound to be long.”

“Right!” came the simultaneous cries of the senshi as they rose from their spots at their own paces.

“Tomorrow then…” the brunette breathed out as she finished stretching the kinks out of her back.

“Excited at the prospect of seeing Haruka-san again?” the cheeky love senshi asked the brawler who immediately turned crimson.

“M-Mina!” the brunette stuttered trying to reclaim some sense of logic.  “This is senshi business!”

“Hey!  That doesn’t mean you can’t scope out your dream guy on the job!” the idol chaser informed while ignoring Artemis’ warning growls.  The blonde slung an arm around the taller brunette’s shoulders as if cutting Makoto a special deal.  “Trust me, I’m the senshi of love!  Which means that your love interests falls under my senshi business!”

“Uh…” the guardian of courage gaped as she tried to think of something to say.  “I don’t think I like the sound of that.”

“You’ll change your mind on that one after you see Haruka-san tomorrow.”  The Venusian sing-songed before sauntering away leaving behind a blushing brunette.  She looked towards her friends only to find that Rei wasn’t amongst them.  Probably went straight home to get chores done or something.  Ami was still sitting and had Usagi engaged in their own conversation which the brunette found slightly strange.  Usagi was all over boy talk, so why was she ignoring the love senshi’s pestering?

Tomorrow…

The word teetered on the tip of Makoto’s tongue as she thought through Mina’s logic.  They were going to Mugen Academy, which Haruka attended.  But they were going on senshi business and Makoto would never think to look for love during-

She stopped herself mid-thought.  She would _never_ look for love during a mission!  So, maybe Haruka really was her love!  Maybe this would be her big break!

“We heading out yet?” the brunette asked a little too enthusiastically.  Nobody bothered to mention it though as their princess beamed back at the brawler.

“Yep, all good here!” she announced chirpily.  “Time to go to Mako-chan’s!”

The hearty hostess laughed as she stepped towards the stairs that led to the arcade.  “Right, then let’s go already!”

The brunette took the lead as the group travelled to her apartment, the woman barely able to keep the smile off her face.

Tomorrow they would go to Mugen, investigate the enemy, come up with a battle plan.

Tomorrow she would likely run into Ten’ô Haruka again.

Tomorrow would be a great day to fall in love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, am I the only person confused by Asanuma's sudden disappearance after the Black Moon arc? I mean, I know Asanuma's hanging out Mamoru in the third and fifth arcs, but after he tells Makoto he wishes he had power so that he could help protect her he just never shows up in her life anymore. Sure, I have my own ideas on it (which I may or may not add to this fic depending on where I decide to take it), but I thought that was super weird. Anyways thank you so much for reading and please comment, review and/or kudos.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man this chapter was long! There was just too much I wanted to say I guess. On a side note, the rating of this fic went up strictly do to language added in this chapter. Anyways, please read, kudos and enjoy!

_Dear Diary,_

_The infiltration of Mugen Academy was a bust!  Which, I mean, we should have known we wouldn’t even get through the front door of the damned establishment given the fact that the school has as extensive a security system as Princess D’s diamond mines, but still!  At least Usagi managed to get in, but it sounds like she ran into the elusive lover of star athlete Ten’ô Haruka, or should I say star ass-lete!  Seriously!  All that Haruka asshole is good for is being a stupid, iditoic little fu-_

“Mina-chan, what are you doing with my diary?”

The blonde immediately froze as she slowly turned her head to see slightly irritated emerald eyes that peered down at her from a height that seemed absolutely inhuman with how she toward over the hunched girl.

“Oh, h-hi Mako-chan!” the athlete stammered as she tried to fill her voice with its usual pep.  “I, uh, I was just… checking~ your~ diary~ foooooor typos!  Right!  I was definitely just proofreading it to make sure there were no mistakes!  For instance, I never knew you could swear as much as you did here, I mean, profanity isn’t very ladyli-EEEEK!”

“Alright, listen up,” the towering brunette interrupted as she leaned down, grabbing the blonde mane by the red ribbon that had become her friend’s trademark.  “One, if I wanted proofreading on _anything_ I would go to Rei or Ami.  Two, it’s a diary!  No one’s supposed to read it anyways, so there’s no point in proofreading it!  And three…”

Makoto’s face moved dangerously close to the shirking blonde’s as emerald green eyes glinted with promise.  “If you don’t like my word choice than my fist would gladly convince just how ‘ladylike’ I can be.”

“I, uh haha” the blonde stammered as she tried to fight down the fear that was overcoming her, until her admission came in a loud rant.  “Ok, so I was snooping into your personal diary, but the only page I got to was last Friday, and then I remembered that that was when we investigated Mugen and… well… I wanted to see how you were coping with the whole Haruka deal.”

Emerald eyes continued to glare into pleading blue as the poor blonde held up her hands in surrender.  In the end, an exasperated sigh left the brawler as she dropped the idol chaser back in her seat and pulled her diary close to her as she moved to sit down.  “You know I would’ve told you if you just asked."

Emerald eyes glanced over the book before the brunette buried it and her head in her arms.  "Why do I keep getting this wrong?!”

“Because there’s someone absolutely fantastic out there that’s going to completely blow everyone out of the water and make all these other guys seem absolutely trivial!”

Makoto’s eyes widened slightly as the exuberant athlete had jumped onto her seat and flailed her arms out in exaggeration, her friend looking at her with determination and confidence.  The brunette recovered from her shock in time to quirk an eyebrow at her hyper-active friend as a sly smirk crept across her face.  “It sounds like you’ve learned this from experience.”

The words caused the blonde to redden slightly as she sat back down and looked off to the main counter where her eyes locked on the odangoed blonde talking to the bluenette and pinkette about all the wondrous options for ice cream, juice and tea the Crown Fruits offered.  “Well, I mean, think about Usagi.  Sure, she went through her fair share of crushes, but none of that became relevant when she finally found Mamo-san again in this life.  She found the man that she had died and been reborn for.  The only person she could ever possibly be with.  Nothing else is relevant as far as the two of them are concerned…”

The brunette looked on, unsure as to what to take from one of the few serious moments that Minako ever showed in her civilian form and pondering on whether the words were actually meant for her, or if the blonde was trying to convince herself of something.  Not wanting to spend much more thought on it the brunette turned to face forward as she rested her chin on the arms she left folded on the table.  “I wish I had a love in my past life.”

“Psh!  Forget past lives!” the impulsive blonde announced as she leaned back in her chair with her hands resting behind her head.  “I’m gunna find my dream man around here somewhere and, when I do, I’m gunna make him aaaaaaall mine!”

A light laughter left the brunette’s lips as she straightened in her seat.  “Well, hey, if you’re not giving up than neither am I!  I mean, I can’t let you find someone before I do!”

“Ohoho!” the mischievous blonde trilled as she looked back at her friend with a devious grin.  “You truly think that I, the reincarnation of the Goddess of Love, would lose to you when it comes to pursuits in romance?”

“Damn straight!”  The brunette laughed with a full grin.  “Besides, what good is your ‘Goddess of Love’ persona when you’re the one infatuated?  Seriously, it seems like you start crushing on every boy that walks by as opposed to the other way around.”

“Now that’s just mean!”  The blonde playfully whined as she tried to catch her breath in between laughs.  “Though I could say the same about your many boy-hunting exploits.”

“Hey, how am I supposed to know he’s not the one if I don’t even talk to him?”

The two continued to laugh as the errant trio returned to the table with the odangoed blonde taking the lead.  “Hey girls!  Talking about anything interesting while I was gone?  I wanna know!”

A cheeky grin overtook the exuberant blonde’s face as she responded to her princess’ whining.  “Sorry Usagi, but you know what they say, a true lady with no one to kiss can’t tell.”

Emerald eyes rolled at the statement as the brunette tried not to laugh at the odangoed blonde’s exaggerated pouty face.  “We’re discussing finding boyfriends.  Nothing that would interest the three of you, I’m sure.”

She flashed a cheeky grin to the bluenette who simply rolled her eyes.  “You know me well enough to know that I have no interest in such things.  Especially during a critical time of study such as now.”

“Yeah!”  The little pinkette exclaimed in agreement as she sat her sundae on the table.  “Besides, I don’t need to discuss finding a boyfriend because I’m going to marry Mamo-chan!”

“You little brat!”  The fuming blonde retorted as she glared at the smaller girl.  “You need to give it up!  Mamo-chan’s mine!”

The cheeky second grader looked back to the blonde image of herself through lidded eyes.  “I wouldn’t be so sure if I were you Usagi.  Mamo-chan’s serious about his studies and should be impressed that I’m taking my education just as seriously.”

“Oh really?”  The defensive blonde challenged as she crossed her arms and straightened her posture.  “And what exactly do you think you’ve accomplished that would get Mamo-chan’s attention?”

A deep sigh escaped Makoto as her attention wandered away from the estranged familial dispute and into her own ruminations.  Arguing about having a boyfriend sounded way more fun than fighting to get one.

She shook her head violently.  That was stupid.  Sure, Nichôgi did a number on her when he rejected her before, but then…

_The current me doesn’t need love.  Because I have comrades who share the same goal as me._

_We don’t have the luxury of the time it takes to cry over a man._

The brunette turned to look at the clock.  They said they would all meet up half an hour ago, but Rei never showed.  Could she be running late?  But Rei was _never_ late.  Makoto turned her attention back to her diary on the table to flip through the calendar in the front of the booklet to find April and-

“Chibi-Usa’s a second grader now?”

“And we’re finally in the third year of middle school.”

A tension filled the air as the dreadful realization settled upon the three less-than-phenomenal middle school students as they let the information sink in.

“Ahh!  How depressing…! high school entrance exams are right around the corner…!”

“If enemies show up now, I’m going to end up flunking, I know it!”

“There, there!  Let’s stop the depressing talk for now!”  The brunette attempted to console the two wailing blondes as she found the perfect chance to voice her thoughts.  “Hey!  You know?  April 17th is Rei-chan’s birthday!  Let’s throw her a birthday party!  Okay?”

Emerald eyes scoured the parlor as the brawler began seeking out the elusive shrine maiden.  “Huh?!  Come to think of it, where’s Rei-chan?!”  Seriously, where _was_ she?

“If you’re looking for Rei-chan, she’s been training on Mount M since yesterday.”

“Training!”  The brunette couldn’t believe her ears.  Her friend’s birthday was the next day and she had left them all behind to do some training?  That was unacceptable!

“No way!!  I was really looking forward to throwing a party!”

“Look at this, Luna!”

“What is it?”

“Mugen Academy’s annual Mount M incoming student’s camp?”

The brawler immediately stopped her wailing and moved to grab the newspaper from the two cats who watched with a mix of concern and bewilderment as a serious expression crossed the brunette’s face.  “Say Mina-chan, this is the same Mount M that you said Rei-chan was training on, right?”

The blonde in question moved out of her seat to investigate the paper offered as her eyes scoured the newfound evidence.  “Yeah… this has to be the same place.”

“But!  If that’s where Mugen Academy is…!”  The odangoed blonde cried from the table as she rose from her seat.  The implication hanging heavy in the air.

“Rei-chan’s smart…” the near whisper of the pinkette managed to say as her gaze remained fixed on her melting sundae.  “She wouldn’t get herself in trouble…”

“Although she did seem rather anxious when I talked to her at the arcade last…” the soft voice of the bluenette wafted through the air as all eyes turned to see the pondering face of their tactician.  “I hope she isn’t doing anything rash.”

“Well then, that settles it!”

All heads turned back to the brunette who had crumpled up the paper and thrown it away, much to the dismay of the talking cats who argued that they hadn’t even gotten past the first page.

“Uh…” all the other senshi looked at each other before the leader managed to hazard the question.  “Settles what Mako-chan?”

The brunette casually strode back to the table, packed her diary in her book bag and headed towards the door, turning around before exiting.  “What do you think?  I’ve got to go home, bake a cake and hike it up the mountain for Rei’s birthday!  Oh, and take down an enemy base while I’m at it.”

“Whaaaaaaaat!!!!”

The brunette flashed them all a confident grin as the remaining senshi stammered to try to convince their stubborn friend otherwise.

“Mako, you can’t!”

“Please think about what you’re doing!”

“It’s too far away, the buses up their only run so late!”

“Precisely!”  The brunette exclaimed with her hands on her hips.  “Which means I need to get home and bake this cake ASAP so that I can leave as soon as possible.  Which also means that if you want to join me, you’ll have to be ready by the time the cake’s done baking.”

The two blondes looked at each other as the bluenette hid her face in one of her palms while the young pinkette tried to stifle her giggles at Usagi’s panicked demeanor.  “But Mako-chan!  I haven’t even gotten Rei-chan her birthday present yet!”

The love senshi squealed in terror as her fingers flew to futilely suppress the sound.  “Oh my gosh, neither have I!  What are we going to do!”

“Well, you’d better shop fast!”  The brunette goaded as she turned to give them a back-handed wave.  “See you later!”

“Oh no, what are we going to do?!”  The reincarnated princess exclaimed as she turned to her trusty senshi leader.  “I have to find Rei-chan a gift and fast!”

“I don’t know Usagi! I’m trying to think!”  The near-identical blonde whined back as she put on her best thinker pose.  “I know!  I’ll just get her Casablanca Lillies!  I know those are her favorite!”

“Yeah!  I’ll do that too!”

“Usagi, you can’t!”

Tears welled in light blue eyes as the odangoed blonde tried, and inevitably failed, to suppress her wail.  “But why not Mina?!?!  I need a gift for Rei-chan too!!!”

“Okay, okay!”  The love senshi cried in an attempted to placate the princess with palms facing forward.  “How about this, we’ll go to the shopping center and you can find something for Rei-chan while I get her Casablanca Lillies.”

A soft snivel could be heard through the parlor as the odangoed blonde tried to suppress the tears.  “But what if I don’t find anything?”

“Then I’ll help you!  But we’re not leaving the shopping district until we both have a present for Rei-chan!”

“Mina-chan…”

“I would never abandon you Usagi-chan!  Whatever happens, we’ll do it together!!!”

A few more tears slipped down puffy cheeks as the self-proclaimed crybaby threw her arms around the senshi leader.  “Omigosh Mina-chan!!!  Thank you soooooo much!!!!!”

“Of course, Usagi-chan!”  The guardian of love assured as she lightly patted the odangoes on her friend’s head before breaking the embrace.  “Now let’s hurry and get Rei-chan her birthday gifts so that Makoto can’t leave us behind!”

“Right!  Ugh—Wait!!!”  The odangoed blonde stumbled as she tried to pull her friend back who was pulling her towards the door.  “Ami-chan!  Are you coming with us?!”

“Ami-chan!?  What about me?!”

Usagi stuck her tongue out at the small pinkette that had demanded their attention.  “You’re staying here!  I’m not taking you with me on a three-hour bus ride!”

A soft 'hmph' was all the future princess had in response as the bluenette turned to the two blondes who looked at her expectantly.  “Well I’ve already gotten Rei-chan’s birthday present, so I’ll just meet the two of you at Mako-chan’s apartment.”

“What?!?!”  The two blondes shouted as the odangoed one pouted at the bluenette.  “You mean you went birthday shopping without us?!”

“Well, I _did_ invite you,” the scholar reasoned as she took off her reading glasses.  “I asked if you wanted to join me to restock on school supplies and you responded that I shouldn’t waste time buying more school supplies when the Crown had just gotten a new fighting game.”  The bluenette casually packed her things and strode past her panicking companions as she headed for the exit.  “Perhaps if you were more proactive in your studies you would have prevented this panic of needing to find Rei-chan a gift in such a constrictive time frame.  Anyways, I hope to see you at Mako-chan’s later!”

With a cheery smile and a wave the bluenette was off, leaving two dumbfounded blondes gaping in her wake.  The idol chaser shook her head vigorously before shaking her friend in just as vigorous a manner.  “What are we still doing here?!  We don’t have time for this!  Come on!  We need to go!!!”

“WAAAAHHHH!!!”

The odangoed blonde stumbled forward as her energetic friend half pulled, half dragged her out of the parlor.  “Hold on Mina!  Wait for me!!!”

The two blondes stumbled through the sliding doors as the monochromatic cats on the table watched in uncertainty.  “Is it really a good idea to let them run off like that?”

Black velvet ears twitched as the female cat tilted her head in thought.  “If it was anyone other than Rei-chan sitting on a mountain next to a potential hot bed for our enemies I’d be concerned, but Rei isn’t one to confront the enemy upfront.  Also, the fact that the others are more concerned about Rei’s birthday than Mugen’s presence gives me some confidence that finding Rei-chan is their primary goal, and she wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize her friends if they were there.  And besides…”

“Hey!  You can’t be thinking of leaving me behind too!  Cats can’t take the bus you know!”

Both feline heads drooped as the pinkette folded her arms and glowered at the lunar cats for their discussed betrayal.

The white cat gave an awkward chuckle that gave way to a nervous sigh.  “Yeah, I guess we don’t have much of a choice then, do we?”

“You know,” both heads turned to the small second-grader who had taken another scoop of her sundae.  “I can keep an eye on them all for you!”

“You have to be 12 or older to ride the bus without a legal guardian.”  The black cat shrewdly informed as she laid flat on the table.  “Besides, we couldn’t help you with the fare anyways.”

“Aw man!”  The pinkette whined as she fell back in her chair.  “I can’t get anything being a little kid like this!”

“And here’s your- oh-” Unazuki paused as she panned the parlor for her pending patrons.  “Where’d the others go?”

“Heck if I know!”  The abandoned child cried as she threw her hands up.  “Apparently they had an emergency shopping spree they needed to get on for Rei-chan’s birthday so that they could chase her up a mountain!”

“Really?”  The brunette asked as she took another look over the lobby to see if she could spot them.  “Well, they already paid for the food and drinks, so I guess they’re all yours today!”

“YAY!”

* * *

 

Makoto desperately wanted to hit something.

Her foot steadily tapped against the floor as she rapped her fingers impatiently against the armrest, staring as the dexterous digits continued to drum against the hard surface simply to distract herself from how badly she wanted to kick the seat in front of her, or curl her fingers into a fist to punch the object in front of her, or bang her head against it, or anything else that could _get this stupid bus to move any faster!_

Ugh!

The entire bus seemed to shake as the brunette violently threw herself back into her seat.  This bus ride was taking forever!

“Patience was never your strongest suit, was it Mako-chan?”

The brunette turned to give a glare to the school genius seated next to her with an ever-present book in hand.

“Psh, I’m patient when I’m waiting for a dish to finish up, I mean, there’s a lot I can get done in my apartment,” the brunette grumbled.  “Also, I’d probably be more patient if we’d left yesterday, like we _planned!_ ”

The bluenette sighed as she closed her book, placing both hands on the cover while carefully removing her glasses.  “Mako-chan, you know that what happened yesterday could hardly be considered planned.  It was a spontaneous impulse that we chose to act on and, regardless of my approval to find Rei-chan as soon as possible, it was too late in the day for us to prepare for the trip and catch a bus up the mountain before they were discontinued for the day.”

The brunette simply growled as she thought through the events of the previous day.  She had left to go home and immediately set to baking a cake only to find that she didn’t have the ingredients needed to create the perfect birthday confection for Rei.  So, she had to run back into the Juban Shopping District, scour the shops for her select items and return to combine them all into a fantastically sugary concoction that would bake into a brilliant treat.  Of course, with the time it took to gather the ingredients and bake the cake it was too late, the buses going up Mount M had stopped for the day.  It took the other three coming out to find her at the bus stop and convincing her that they’d stay over at her apartment and catch the first bus in the morning to convince her to not simply camp out on the street.

The frustrated brawler groaned as she banged against the headrest.  “Are we they yet?”

“Not quite,” the bookworm immediately informed as she put her reading glasses back on.  “We still have quite a ways to go actually.  You may want to follow the others’ lead and get some rest.”  She nodded her head across the aisle to the odangoed blonde sleeping on Mina’s shoulder, whose head rested against the princess' as she slept.

A soft growl escaped the brunette before she turned on the bluenette and exclaimed in a hushed tone.  “How can you all be so relaxed right now?!  Rei-chan’s on Mount M!  With Mugen Academy!  What if she runs into someone and-”

“Nothing’s going to happen to Rei-chan.”

Emerald eyes peeked to the seat next to her as a crystal blue gaze bore into her with the determination of someone who had fought for two lifetimes.  Makoto couldn’t help but find it curious that such a hard gaze could still look completely in place on the shy genius’ face.  But the stubborn brawler wasn’t ready to relent her concerns just yet.  “You don’t know that.”

“Mako-chan, if there was any one of us that I believed would be alright on our own it would be Rei-chan.  She knows how to keep a distant eye on others without drawing attention to herself.  Also she’s strong and cunning enough to know how to escape if she does get into a difficult situation.”  The bluenette turned away only to return with a soft, comforting smile to offer the brunette.  “She’ll be fine Mako-chan.  You’ll see when we get there.”

“BUT WHAT IF SHE-”

The bookworm quickly hushed the brawler as the two took a quick glance at the two blondes in the seats across from them.  The odangoed blonde nuzzling further into the other blonde’s neck who shifted slightly to accommodate her friend’s new choice position while lazily wrapping an arm around the other, calming the anxious brawler slightly.  Even in her sleep, the senshi leader was still so protective of their princess.

The brunette dropped her head to her lap as she stared at the hands fiddling in her lap.  “What if I can’t protect her.”

The blue head tilted as she pondered on where Makoto’s train of thought was going.  “Pardon?”

“I mean,” the brunette sighed as she raised her head to the ceiling, emerald gaze wandering across the white paneling as she replayed the same conversation she’d had just a few weeks ago.  “I’m supposed to be the guardian of protection.  What if something happens to Rei-chan and I can’t help her?”

“You will be able to help her Mako-chan.”

The brunette turned to see a comforting smile shine beneath glittering crystal eyes as she felt a reassuring squeeze on her shoulder.  “Whatever happens, we all know that we can count on you.  Just, please try to have faith in us to.  Rei-chan knows how to take care of herself.  We all do, in fact.”

The brunette paused for a moment before turning away and scratching the back of her head.  “It’s not like I think you’re all helpless or anything like that...”

“Oh, don’t worry, it’s not something I’d take offense with.”  The bluenette interrupted between giggles.  “I know that strength isn’t my forte and that none of us are a match for you in that department, but we all have different capabilities that allow us to accomplish whatever task may lie ahead of us.  It’s because we can compensate for each other’s weak points that we can overcome any challenge.  We complete each other as a unit.”

A neutral expression overtook Makoto’s features before she leaned back into her seat.  “If that’s the case, why did Rei leave alone?”

And why didn’t she tell _me_ she was going?

The brunette winced at the thought.  Rei could tell Minako that she was leaving them all for the weekend, but couldn’t tell _her?_   She thought that Rei was beginning to trust her, believe in her, even if it was just a little.  Weren’t they friends?  They _were_ friends, weren’t they?

“Honestly, I don’t quite understand that either.”

The brawler continued to glare at the bus floor as she tapped her foot loudly to try to ease the tension in her stiff body.

“Of course, that’s also something I don’t understand about you.”

The brunette groaned as she slid slightly lower in her seat.  “Are you going to lecture me for being 'brash' and 'reckless' again?”

The scholar giggled lightly as she offered her friend a soft smile.  “Of course not, there’d be no purpose in informing you of traits about yourself that you are already quite aware of.”

Brown bangs blew out of emerald orbs as the brawler offered a soft grunt in response to the comment.

“I simply said that because you’re a lot like her.”

That comment piqued the thunder senshi’s interest as she turned to see the bluenette staring out the window.  “I mean, you both always run off to try to solve things on your own without having to worry the rest of us.”  A humorless chuckle escaped the bookworm as she turned towards her friend.  “It makes sense though.  You’re both so independent, confidant, and strong.  Like you could take on the world on your own and… and the rest of us are just accessories…”

“Ami-chan…” the brawler’s face fell as she saw the downcast gaze the scholar left with after her reasoning.  “It’s… it’s not like that Ami-chan.  I just… I never really had anyone growing up.”  The thunder senshi leaned back into her seat as she folded her arms.  “I don’t really know how to depend on another person honestly.”

Crystal orbs widened slightly before bashfully turning away to hide the surprise that inevitably appeared on her face.  “Oh… I see…”

Emerald orbs peeked beyond brown bangs at the form of the bluenette hugging her book tightly with one arm, while the other held soft fingers curled slightly inwards in front of her, as if poised to catch any tears that would fall.

“Ami-cha-”

“I was twelve when my parents got divorced, but before then my papa would always dote on me.  He taught me chess, swimming, painting… and when he left…”  Crystal orbs shimmered with nostalgia before becoming downcast again.

“Ami-”

“I’m sorry,” the bluenette turned to offer a reassuring smile that seemed to falter slightly.  “It’s just I-”

A soft snort came from the seats across the aisle from them turning the duo’s heads towards the two blondes.  The ever-so-graceful princess started smacking her lips together as she tugged lightly on her guardian leader’s shirt, causing the other blonde to tense slightly before relaxing back into Usagi’s embrace.

“You should get some rest to.”

“Whu-” the brunette turned to see the water senshi looking at her with a comforting gaze.  “Nu- no I’m fine.  Honestly, I’d rather talk.”

Blue orbs widened as a soft blush overtook the bluenette’s cheeks and a dainty hand covered her mouth in a gesture similar to faking a cough.  “Mako-chan I… are you… ah”

“I don’t want to have to waste time waking up when we get there.”  The brawler reasoned as she relaxed into her seat.  “And we don’t have to talk about your parents if you don’t want to, but I do want to talk about something, just to help pass the time.”

“Oh!”  A slight sigh of relief came from the bluenette before a new concern arose.  “Um… what topic would you believe to be adequate for… passing the time?”

The brunette hummed in uncertainty as she shrugged her shoulders before looking over to her bus companion.  “What’s your book about?”

“Oh, ah,” the bashful bluenette fumbled with the book before turning back to the brunette.  “This is actually a detailed account of the Tokyo Bay reclamation project.”

“You mean the delta where Mugen’s at?  Did you find anything?"

A sigh escaped the bluenette as she looked over the cover of the book.  “Not really, it sounds like the area was used as a research facility before, but after an explosion of unknown origins occurred and set fire to the area four years ago they’re remaking it into a commercial hub.”

“Do you think that explosion had anything to do with our newest enemy?”

The bookworm loosed a sigh before offering her answer.  “I’m not sure.  It’s not unlikely that there was an experiment or a fuse that caused the explosion.  Also, this happened four years ago so, if the enemy truly was behind that explosion then why would they wait until now to attack?”

The brunette hummed in what was a mixture of thought and frustration.  “Anything else in that book.”

The bluenette shook her head.  “That was the only bit of information I could find that could have been even remotely related to our new mission.”

“Hmmm…” the brawler folded her arms as she scrunched her face in thought.  “So… do you… own that book?”

The bluenette failed to stifle the giggle that escaped her as she gave the brunette a full smile.  “I bought it, why do you ask?”

The brunette shrugged her shoulders as she offered her own small grin.  “It’s a conversation starter, isn’t it?  Do you own every book you read?”

The bookworm was practically giddy at the thought of what was coming next.  “You must truly be desperate to ask me about my book collection.”

“Yeah…” a small laugh escaped the brunette before a serious expression took over her features.  “Can I tell you something real fast?”

The bluenette fumbled a bit at the sudden change of tone as she managed to stammer a coherent sentence.  “O-oh, uhm, of course!  Mako-chan, what… what do you need?”

“It’s not me, per se but…” the brunette scratched at the back of her head before turning back to the bluenette.  “It’s just, if you ever do want to talk about your parents, I mean, I doubt I’ll be able to offer much help or anything, but, I can always provide a listening ear.”

A soft smile spread across the bluenette’s features as she hid the tear that threatened to escape.  “Thank you, Mako-chan.”

A huge grin cracked the thunder senshi’s face.  “It’s what friends are for.”

* * *

 

“REI-CHAAAN!”

The thunder senshi had to hold back her laughter as she saw the shrine maiden nearly fall over in surprise.  “M-Mako-chan?!”

“Finally, we’re here!” the guardian of protection announced before finally feeling some relief in knowing that her friend was whole and well.

“Ah, it’s Rei-chan!”

The two friends turned towards the newcomers who the brawler had half forgotten about in her haste to get to Rei as quickly as possible while the shrine maiden scrambled to get her thoughts together.

“All you guys?!?!”

The newest arrivals began to talk over each other as they continued to struggle to regain some air after the steep hike to Rei’s recluse.

“I thought I was gunna die!”

“It’s the very top of a mountain!”

“Rei-chan, do you always train at places like this?!”

“What are you all doing here?!”

“Oh, that’s right!”

The brunette rushed forward to grab the shrine maiden’s hand as she began to drag her away from the waterfall.  “There’s something we needed you for!  Your lodge was this way, right?!”

“Whoa!  Mako-chan, don’t you dare leave us behind again!”

“Gyah!  Mako-chan, what are you doing?!”

The bounding brunette simply slammed the door open as she rushed the shrine maiden in before shouting back out the door to the lagging followers.  “Hurry it up slowpokes!  We’ve got-”

“Mako-chan!  Stop!”  The war senshi commanded as she pulled the brunette from the door, forcing her to look at the glowering shrine priestess while the others arrived behind her.  “What is the meaning of this?!”

The other senshi looked at each other before turning to Ami who sighed, as she pulled out five plastic cups and filled each of them with soda before passing the them around.

“Um, everyone… what is this?”

All glasses were raised in the air as the sailor senshi cheered.  “Rei-chan!  Happy fifteenth birthday!”

The shrine maiden was taken aback as she attempted to express her gratitude only for the other four to bombard her with the gifts they had chosen to give her, with Makoto announcing she had brought the cake, Minako bringing Casablanca Lillies, Usagi bringing a tea set labelled “his” and “hers” for Rei to share with her grandpa, and Ami bringing an advanced problem workbook.  Of course, the workbook caught more attention from the two blondes than it did from the intended recipient.

“…Ami-chan…”

“Don’t worry, I got one for each of us!  Let’s hold a study session!”

“I don’t want to see such things deep in the mountains!”

The two blondes continued to whine as the brunette tried desperately to think of anything but the impending exam that would basically determine the rest of her life when she noticed that Rei wasn’t with the group anymore.  Instead, she found the shrine maiden by the door looking at the lodge closest to them.

“…Don’t tell me, Rei-chan… that you knew?”  The miko turned to find the brunette standing close behind her with an expression she couldn’t quite read.  “Mugen Academy’s retreat for incoming students… is taking place here, at a lodge on Mount M.”

The shrine maiden composed herself, preparing for wherever the conversation might have led.  “You could say that.  To tell the truth, part of the reason I came here was because of that.”

It was at that point the expression the miko couldn’t read started to become recognizable as hurt slowly etched itself across the brawler’s features.  “Why didn’t you say anything to the rest of us?!  How could you come alone?”

The war guardian sighed before turning away, not willing to see the betrayal painted on Makoto’s face.  “Because I had a bad feeling about it.”

The brunette opened her mouth to argue, but the fire senshi continued with her explanation.  “We have to do our best to protect Usagi.  Things we can prevent, we must stop ahead of time… without involving Usagi.  That was my thinking.”

The brawler wanted to fight back, wanted to argue, but the expression that Rei wore let her know that this was not up for debate.  “…Yeah,” the brunette hesitantly answered as she held the shrine maiden’s gaze.  “If that’s what you think is-”

The final thought was interrupted by a loud crash coming from the lodge nearby, grabbing the attention of all the senshi.  “Wh-What’s that?!”

“Mugen Academy is holding judo practice in that lodge over there.”

“Let’s check it out!”  The senshi leader declared as she emphatically pointed towards the lodge.

“Actually, I’m not sure if-”

“Come on Rei-chan,” the brunette interrupted as she moved past the group out the door.  “You came here to investigate, right?  Don’t wanna go home empty-handed now, do we?”

The shrine maiden glared at the brunette's audacity before the wisdom warrior captured her attention with a soft voice.  “We have very little information on Mugen to work with right now. It may be worth looking around while we have this opportunity.”

The shrine maiden looked to the other senshi who were all looking at her expectantly.  She loosed a sigh and looked away from the unintended audience.  “Fine.”

“Alright, um… Rei-chan…”  The odangoed blonde started with a sheepish smile as she scratched the back of her head.  “Can you show us how to get there from here?”

The firebrand sighed as she moved past the group.  “Alright, just try to stay together.”

The shrine maiden led them through the winding path but it didn’t take them as long to make it to the next lodge as they were expecting.  They quickly snuck open the front door and-

“Huh?… What are you all doing here?!”

All the girls tensed as the familiar blond figure moved closer to them.  “We really run into each other a lot, huh.  Don’t just hide there!  Come out and join us.”

The group of failed spies blanched as they moved into the doorway while all but the odangoed blonde tensed at the sight of the familiar Mugen student who continued his questioning.  “What’re you doing this deep in the mountains?  Are you guys on a retreat too?  What a coincidence.”

“Sorry, but, we’re here on this mountain to train also!”

“M-Mako-chan!”  The firebrand reached out towards the brunette but stopped herself short.  Clenched fists shook in frustration and emerald eyes glared daggers at the newcomer, anxious for the perfect opportunity to smack that ridiculously cocky smirk of that jerk’s face.

“Training, huh?”  The student questioned mischievously as the smirk Makoto hated began to grow in size.  “Say, since you’re here anyway, anyone want to practice with me?  I’ll help train you!  Anyone ever do judo before?”

“Alright!  I’ll take you on!”

“Mako-chan?!”

The blonde leader called out to her soldier, but it was in vain as the thunder senshi moved past the Mugen student to find a uniform to change into as the others stayed behind, worrying over the impulsiveness of their friend.

“Man, what’s up with her?”

The odangoed blonde turned to the tall student who was looking in the direction Makoto went in before she looked down with a slight blush.  “I… I mean… things have just been a bit stressful these days… I mean with school and exams and… stuff…”

The lean blond loosed a light chuckle as he turned to look at the younger woman.  “Well, maybe this’ll help her release some steam.  How about you?  You wanna spar next round?”

The love senshi flared in response as she moved next to Usagi and pulled her arm towards the door in response.  “You are not going to-”

“Hey!”

The imposing high school student turned to find Makoto, glare still in place as she punched the palm of her hand.  “You’re not thinking of worming your way out of this one, are you?”

With a shrug of his shoulders and a sigh the race car driver leisurely moved towards the arena and stood in position.  “Let’s get this over with.”

The brunette loosed a low growl as she stared down her opponent, ready to make him regret ever threatening her and her friends.

 _You newbie jerk_.

She let the anger boil within her as she waited for the fury to peak.  The brunette rushed at the high school student only for him to grab her arm.  Realization dawned on her face as she felt herself being pulled over the racer’s body until she was thrust to the floor.

“Mako-chan?!”

“Hey!  How dare you throw a frail girl full-force?!”

“Gender shouldn’t matter.”

A soft groan came from the brawler as she glared up into Haruka’s determined eyes.  “Do you think it’s okay for a woman to lose to a man just because of her gender?  If you believe that, how could you ever protect those who are important to you?”

The brunette slowly lifted herself up as her clenched fists shook with rage.

_I don’t want to think that I lost because I’m female._

“I want a rematch!”

“Nope.”  The blond casually walked away from his enraged challenger as he opened the door.  “It’s better if you head out now.”

“No way!”  The thunder senshi roared as she ran towards the blond.  “I’m going to beat you and prove to you that I’m a match for any-”

“You!  What are you doing over there?!”

The five senshi gazed at the angry red-head who was standing in the far hallway before stumbling through the door that Haruka had left open for them, leaving the racer talking to the new arrival behind them as they rushed towards their own lodge until their lungs eventually gave out.  They paused to gather their breath, with the firebrand seizing the opportunity to grab Makoto by the shoulder and force the brunette to face her.

“Mako-chan!  What were you thinking?!”

“Since when do you care what I think?!  You certainly didn’t seem to care when you ditched town without letting anyone know!”

“Hey!”  The love senshi called as she ran to the quarrelling duo.  “That’s not fair of you to turn this around on Rei-chan!  She was only trying to help our investigation!”

“Oh, I’m sorry!”  The brunette responded in mock defense.  “I didn’t realize that only some of us were useful to the mission here!”

“Mako-chan, please calm dow-”

“No, Ami-chan! I won’t calm down!”

“EVERYONE STOP!!!”

The four senshi turned to see their princess, tears threatening to escape the blue prisons in her eyes as her voice reflected her pain.  “This isn’t why we came here…”

All heads lowered in shame as the love senshi moved towards the odangoed blonde to offer comfort, with the other three looking towards each other, the bluenette speaking first.  "Let's just get back to the lodge."

"Y-Yeah... sorry..." the brunette mumbled before turning back to the rest of the group.  "Hey, how about we start on the cake when we get back?  My... treat...?"

She looked to them all with a forced sheepish smile until her gaze rested on the shrine maiden.  The firebrand had one elbow hugged as her brows were knitted with uncertainty before she released her own sigh.  “That… sounds good…”

The smile dropped from the brunette as the miko looked away before walking past to lead the way back to the lodge, leaving Makoto a few paces behind to mumble to herself.  “Right… good…”

* * *

 

The splashing of water and cackling of dishes sounded near deafening in the sheer silence that the brunette found herself grumbling in as she scrubbed the frosting off one of the plates.  She wasn’t sure what time it was, and honestly, she didn’t care.  She was just looking for anything to distract herself with because she knew that if she saw-

“You should come and get some rest Mako-chan.”

The brunette loosed a tense sigh as she slowed down scrubbing the plate she held in her hand.  “I’m fine, you don’t need to worry about me Rei-chan.”

“Mako-chan-”

“Rei-chan….”

The conversation paused as the brawler grabbed the cake knife off the counter, staring aimlessly at the reflection her face revealed in the messy blade.

“Do you think I’m weak?”

“What?”  The response came out as a humorless chuckle, disbelief at the question the mighty thunder warrior asked bled into her voice.  “Of course not, Mako-chan.  Why would you possibly think such a thing?”

“It’s just that,” the blade rotated, showing the brunette the surrounding room while she kept her gaze downcast.  “I just thought that, maybe, if you thought I was stronger, you would’ve let me know you were going after Mugen alone, or something.”

“Mako-”

“I mean, look at me!”  The brunette threw her head back as a cracked humorless laugh left her.  “First I go and get brainwashed by Mamoru-san!  Then, Petz comes around and kidnaps me and now…”

The brawler lowered the knife into the sink before quickly pulling it out, inspecting it and throwing it in the rinse sink.  She turned around and slunk down the counter wall as her fists balled to her side.  “And now I just went and let Haruka make me look like an idiot…”

The brunette sighed as she dared to peek at the soft-spoken miko.  “And I’m sorry for ruining your birthday…”

“Mako-chan…” the soft voice paused as the shrine maiden gently lowered herself to sit beside the brawler her hand hovering slightly until it slowly eased its way atop the soapy hand beneath it.  “Mako, you didn’t ruin my birthday.  The cake you brought was absolutely delicious.”

“Y-Yeah?  I-I mean,” a soft blush spread across the bashful chef as her hand shifted out from under her friend's to scratch the back of her head.  “Only the best for you, Rei-chan.”

The fire senshi’s cheeks warmed as the hand that held Mako’s for such a brief moment slowly lowered away from her face before she jerked her head forward.  She was being ridiculous.  She trained her eyes to the open space on the other side of her as her fingers began to trace the grain of the wood beneath.  “If you say so…”

Emerald eyes widened as she noticed the distant posture her friend had taken.  She always seemed so distant.  The brunette hugged her knees and leaned forward to stare at the ground.  “I meant to get you a real present you know.”

“Huh?”  The shrine maiden turned back to see the closed off form of her friend before she sighed.  Why was she so bad at this?  “Mako-chan, I… the cake was more than enough.  More than I could have ever dared to ask for, it’s just…”

The shrine maiden dropped her gaze as she hid her hands in her lap.  “Mako-chan, I’m sorry.”

The brunette tilted her head slightly to look over at the firebrand.  “For?”

“For not telling you I was coming here.”

The words seemed to sink into the walls of the room as the brunette rested her chin on her knees.  “Yeah, I was hurt.  I mean…”  a humorless chuckle escaped as the low voice continued.  “I thought we were friends, but you left without telling me.  I mean, you told Mina-chan, but not me?”

Exasperation left the shrine maiden as her legs fell to her other side.  “Mako-chan, I only told Mina because I knew that if she noticed I was missing without telling her she would think I was trying to keep a secret from her and probably tear down the mountain to try to get me to confess.”

A soft laugh left the brunette before she turned with a sly smirk.  “Does that mean you  _do_ have a secret reason for coming here and that’s why you didn’t tell me?”

A groaning sigh rumbled in the room as the miko picked her legs up to hug her chest as she hid her face in them.  “Well, I did say that Mugen being here was only part of the reason I came here.”

The brawler lifted out of her closed position as she turned towards the fire senshi.  “W-Why did you come here then?”

“I…” the firebrand paused as her gaze focused on the floor in front of her.  “I just didn’t want to have to go to my annual birthday dinner.”

The brunette took a moment to ponder upon what she knew about her friend’s birthday tradition when a thought came to her.  “Is this about Kaido-san?”

The miko’s face went ablaze as she looked over to her friend.  “How do you know that name?”

“You took me to that restaurant remember?”

“Yes… but I…”

The brunette sighed.  “The people at that restaurant really liked to talk.   I overheard someone mention that they thought you were dating your father’s assistant and… well…”

The brunette scratched the back of her head as she leaned forward.  “I poked around a little and, it just gave that night a bit more context for me and…” a sigh escaped her as her gaze drifted away.  “I’m sorry Rei-chan.  I shouldn’t have-”

“Did you tell anyone else.”

Emerald orbs clashed with the sheer color of the fire senshi’s burning face as worry was written all over her expression.

“Rei-chan, no, I-I’d never tell anyone, i-it’s not my information to share and besides I…” the brunette paused to look over the flustered miko before retreating her gaze as her chin returned to its roost on her knees.  “I could tell he really hurt you.”

A sigh escaped the shrine maiden as she leaned her head against the cupboards.  “I was simply a fool.”

“No way!”  The brunette bounced to her feet, outstretching her arms as she looked down at the fire senshi.  “He had to have been an idiot!  I mean, anybody would be lucky to have someone as incredible as you Rei-chan!”

Amethyst orbs looked up at the brawler as her expression turned from upset to embarrassed.  A blush rose to the cheeks resting beneath emerald orbs as the shine maiden released a soft giggle.  She slowly lifted herself up and met the emerald gaze.  “Thank you, Mako-chan.  I never thought that anyone would consider luck being a factor of my encounter in their life.”

“Eh?  Wait!”

The shrine maiden stopped a few paces from the door to turn and see the confused face on the brawler’s visage.  “What do you mean that you wouldn’t consider ‘luck’ a factor?”

“Well…” the shrine maiden averted her gaze as amethyst studied the floor beneath it.  “Luck seemed too benevolent a force to believe it would affect one meeting me.”

“Rei-chan.”  The soft voice came followed by footsteps as the brunette walked towards the shrine maiden.  “You don’t give yourself enough credit.”

Another giggle came from the firebrand.  “You know, I often think the same about you.”

The brunette paused in thought for a moment before a light chuckle escaped her.  “Well, look at us… we should start a club or something.”

The firebrand restrained her laughter as she opened the door to their shared room.  “Perhaps, though I think right now our best course of action would be to get some rest.”

“Ugh, your never fun.”

Amethyst orbs rolled at the brunette's antics as they walked towards the two sleeping bags that lay empty next to each other on the floor.  The shrine maiden lowered herself to get settled in her own space as the brunette got comfortable in the space beside her, her hand seemed to burn from the absence of the other's beneath it.

“Mako-chan… can I… ask you a question…?”

Concern took over the brawler’s face as she looked toward the source of the barely audible whisper.  “Of course, Rei-chan.  What do need?”

“I-I was just curious…” the shrine maiden stumbled as she tried to relax with the knowledge that Makoto wouldn’t notice her blush in the dark they were sitting in.  “Does… is it… is having a boyfriend… is that really something you want?”

“Of course! I mean,” the brunette turned as her voice took on a dreamy demeanor.  “If I get a boyfriend, I could get married and have kids, and have the family I… never really had.  And so long as I have that then I’ll never have to be alone again… right?”

Emerald eyes pierced the darkness as the shrine maiden could feel the hope within them weighing heavy on her heart.  It was like seeing her mom all over again.

_Mama always believed in Papa, and always seemed lonely._

_If I were to ever fall in love… I might end up destroying that person_.

“-ei-chan.  Hey, Rei-chan.”

Amethyst orbs blinked out of their reverie as they came face to face with emerald.  A firm hand gripped her shoulder slightly as the shrine maiden felt the heat of embarrassment overtaking her.

“Rei- chan?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Wuh?”  The shrine maiden shifted out of the brunette’s grasp as she pulled the upper half of her sleeping bag over her.  “I’m sorry, that was such a foolish question.”

“Huh? Oh, d-don’t worry about it.”  The brunette tried to offer a soft chuckle but noticed the miko busying herself with adjusting her sleeping bag.  “A-Are you okay?”

“Hm, oh yes, of course,” the firebrand said rather quickly as she sank into the cushioning of her make-shift bed.  “I apologize, I’m just… really tired.  We should get our rest.”

“Oh, uh, of course,” the brunette stammered as she suddenly felt embarrassed by her friend’s response.  “Um… sleep well.”

The shrine maiden turned her back on her flustered friend as she softly voiced her response.  “You too, Mako-chan.”

The brunette looked on, uncertain if the firebrand had actually said something or if she had already fallen asleep given how tiring the day must have been, but what bothered the brawler the most was Rei’s demeanor.  Still closed off.  Still pushing everyone away.

Still seeming so lonely.

If only she could take that loneliness away.

Emerald eyes glanced to assess herself when she noticed she was reaching out for the firebrand.  Makoto blanched.  What was she doing?  _What was she thinking?_   Why was she thinking that she could take away Rei’s loneliness?  Why did she feel like she _wanted_ to?  Isn’t that what people got _married_ for?  How could that even work?  They’re both-

The brunette dared a glance behind her only to quickly retreat it with cheeks on fire.  Was it even possible?  Were there people who actually-

No… No.  Makoto decided, Rei’s gunna find some totally awesome guy, just like she’s going to.  She just can’t give up.

She just has to keep searching for the places she wouldn’t look.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, anyone who reads my other fics have probably heard this twice already, but I am soooooo sorry for how long it took me to update this fic. Life got way too out of control for a moment where I just couldn't take the time to focus on my writing, but, now that things have settled down I'm hoping to get back to the grind and knock out some chapters. I also want to give a huge thank you to everyone who's reading this fic, I know that Mako/Rei isn't a very popular fanship, but it is one of my favorites and I appreciate all the support that this story has been getting. So, thanks to everyone who has been supporting this fic and I hope you enjoy the latest update!

This was all Haruka’s fault!

Or maybe it was Michiru’s.  Eudial and Mimette's?

You know what, she’ll just blame everyone who attended Mugen for her rotten day.

After all, it’s their fault that she’s hasn’t had any time to do anything productive, like studying for her make-up English test or searching for her one true love!

A heavy sigh escaped the brunette.  Ever since that night she hadn’t been able to get Rei out of her head.

She went back to blaming Haruka for that.

If Haruka wasn’t such a jerk, beating her at judo or implanting those strange dreams in her head then Makoto wouldn’t feel the need to seek the warm comfort the fire senshi offered.  She wouldn’t be worried about appearing weak to the firebrand that she felt she could be most vulnerable with.

And even if Rei assured the brunette that she wasn't weak, Makoto couldn't help but feel like she was.

She felt pathetic, wanting to reach out to the fortune teller for any little detail that came up.

Of course, she was going to feel  _really_ pathetic once her friends learn her make-up English test grade.  She could already hear Ami admonishing her.

_Mako-chan, you need to take your studies more seriously!  I know things are hectic with the threat of a new enemy, but don’t worry!  I’ve been coming up with a schedule that will allow us to maximize study by replacing all-_

No!  She was not going to let imaginary Ami tell her about all the cooking and shopping and boy hunting that she would miss out on because of some stupid 37 red mark on some stupid English make-up test!

She crumpled up the test and threw it behind her.

Time to go home.

“Ow…”

Dammit, there just had to be-

“Excuse me, sorry, I think you might’ve-”

“Asanuma-kun…”

Time seemed to freeze as the young blond held the red marked paper towards the baffled brunette, simply staring at each other in disbelief.

“It  _is_ you, right?”

“Ah, sorry you must be mistaken, here’s your test, ‘kay bye-!”

“Whoa, whoawhoawhoa!  Whoa!  You’re not getting off the hook that easily!”

The young kohai blanched as the brunette grabbed his collar, desperately trying to flail out of the situation as the brawler spun him around to face her.  “Look, Mako-chan-!”

“Why have you been avoiding me?!”

The question was met with silence as a soft blue gaze confronted the stern emerald it was forced to face.  The young man released a sigh as he let his gaze lower to the ground.

“Look, Mako-chan, I… I didn’t mean to upset you or anything, I just… um… could you let go of me please?”

Emerald eyes widened, realizing she still had Asanuma’s shoulders gripped in each hand.  She willed her muscles to relax, letting one hand fall to her side as the other moved to scratch the back of her head, willing the blush on her face to go away.

“Uh, sorry about that.  You promise you won’t run away?”

The young man simply offered a shrug.  “It seems pointless now that the question’s out in the open.”

“What, you think I wouldn’t notice that you run out of a building as soon as you know I’m inside?”  The brunette asked as a small smirk crossed her lips.

The blond rubbed the back of his neck as a slightly flustered look overtook his face.  “Yeah, that wasn’t my best decision… I just…”

A sigh escaped his lips as he focused his attention on the details of his book bag that had fallen to the ground.  “I was just scared of what you’d think of me if you… knew...”

The phrase dropped off as the brunette looked on at him, every gear in her mind working towards a single idea in her head.

_You will only find a love that lasts if you look in the place you wouldn’t seek it._

_There’s no way Asanuma-kun likes me like that!_

_If I had the strength, I could protect you!_

“Asanuma-kun…”

The silent student slowly looked towards the soft voice, a red shade deeply emblazing the brunette’s cheeks.

“Do you… Are you in love with me?”

Silence ensued once again as the young man began to fidget and blush on the spot, clearly uncertain as to how to respond in such a situation.

It had to be him!

“Asanuma!  It’s okay!  I mean, sure you’re younger than me, but that doesn’t matter to me!  We can still-!”

“I’m not in love with you Makoto-sempai.”

Emerald eyes widened at the soft voice that came from the young man who refused to meet her gaze as her brows furrowed at the response.

“I can’t love you.”

“Wha-what do you mean?”

The blond took a deep breath as he turned to look his friend in the eyes for the first time since being relinquished from the brunette’s grip.

“Makoto-sempai…”

The words spilled out.  Words that the brawler knew she heard and processed, but words that just didn't seem real.

“You’re lying, right?”  The brunette asked with an uncomfortable chuckle.  “I mean, that’s not even possible, right?  You’re just lying to avoid the issue again?”

A deep sigh escaped the blond as he picked up his book bag and turned towards his previous destination.  “I knew you wouldn’t get it.”

“Asanuma-kun, wha-”

“Just, let’s just forget this.  It’s probably better if we don’t see each other anymore.  It’ll be less problematic that way.”

“Wait!”  The brunette called to halt the young kohai in his tracks.  “This is just another joke, right?  I mean, what do you mean?  What would be less problematic?”

“Just… Look, don’t worry about me, alright?  I promise you, you will find someone who will be worth sharing your life with.  I wish you the best of luck Makoto-sempai.”

“Wait, Asanuma-kun!”

But he didn’t wait this time.  He continued on his path as the dumbfounded brunette simply stared on in the direction that he had wandered down before turning around the nearest corner as a single thought seemed to fill her mind.

_What the hell just happened?_

* * *

 

“Aw man, I’m sooooooo bored!”

A loud yawn emphasized the point as the red ribbon in blonde hair bobbed with the athlete’s fidgets.

“Mina-chan!  You wouldn’t be so bored if you would actually work on your studying, you haven’t even finished the first problem here!”

An obnoxious groan escaped the blonde as she flung her head back to emphasize the disgust at such an idea.  “Ami-chan, I’m trying desperately to  _not_ die of boredom right now!  How could you bring up something so depressing at a time like this!”

“You should just ignore her, Ami-chan.”  The miko softly advised as she kept her focus intent on the workbook in front of her.  “If Mina-chan would rather die of embarrassment when she’s the only third year student that doesn’t move on to high school, I say you should allow her.”

“You’re so mean, Rei-chan!”  The blonde announced as she rose from her seat.  “Besides, the only reason you can twiddle your horn like that is because you don’t have entrance exams at your school!  It’s not fair!”

The firebrand simply hummed in acknowledgment as she continued reading the problems in front of her, making good use of Ami's birthday present to her.

“Hey!  Are you listening to me?”

“Worry not, Mina-chan,” the bluentte stated as her voice rose with a moment of inspiration.  “For I will make it my mission to ensure that we all go to high school together!  And what better time to start than now!  Alright, first question-”

“NOOOOO!!!  PLEASE!!! Anything but THAT!!!!!”

DING

Three heads turned towards the door as the familiar brunette entered the arcade.

“MAKO-CHAN!!!”

The blonde rushed over to tackle the brawler into a hug as she latched onto the thunder warrior.

“Mako-chan!  Please save me!  Ami-chan is trying to force me to study!!!”

“That’s nice…”

The brunette pushed the slender arms off from around her waist as she moved mechanically to the seat in front of the Sailor V video game, leaving a dumbfounded blonde and two confused friends behind in her wake.

“What’s her problem?” the blonde wondered aloud as her other two friends moved in to join her, watching as the brunette fidgeted, placing her face in her palms, closing her hands in front of her, leaning back with her hands behind her.  She barely even noticed Furu-chan when he came by and greeted her.

“Should we… go talk to her?”

“Let’s give her some space,” the miko suggested.  “She looks like she wants to be alone right now.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”  The blonde admitted as she released a sigh of disappointment.

“We can give her some space, in the mean time we should get you studying for your entrance exams!”

“Gah!  Wait, Ami-chan!”

DING

“Hello!  Is Mamo-chan here?”

“Yoo-hoo!  Chibi-Usa-chan, he hasn’t come by today!”

“You’re a class president, Chibi-Usa!”  The brunette finally spoke, venom leaking into her words.  “If you keep saying Mamo-chan this and Mamo-chan that, your classmates are gunna make fun of you!”

“Aw… I was hoping he could help me with my homework!” the small pinkette pouted as she softly mumbled to herself that Makoto was a meanie.

“Homework?”

The bookworm’s question caught the second-grader’s attention as she rushed her project over to the bluenette.  “Yeah, for arts and crafts.  We were supposed to make whatever we want using clay.  But I couldn’t get it to look right, so it became homework.”

The three friends crowded around the table as the small pinkette presented her grand project to them.

“What’s this?  A coffee mug?”

“No, No!”

“What?  What?”

“This,” the pinkette showcased as she waited for the questioning to die down, “is the ‘Legendary Holy Grail!”

Even the brunette became intrigued at this point as she moved over to look at what such an item may look like.  “The ‘Legendary Holy Grail?’  What’s that?”

“She’s talking about the sacred chalice that Neo Queen Serenity was said to have possessed when she was young.”  The small kitten informed, sneaking behind the second-grader.  “Whenever danger threatened, a wondrous power would well up from the grail, granting Neo Queen Serenity strength so she could save the populace.”

“You see,” the pinkette interjected as excitement took over her demeanor.  “I once saw a painting of it in Mama’s room!  It was covered in jewels and all sparkly, and I’ve been wanting something like it for a really long time!”

“When you say ‘Mama,’” the bluenette interjected, curiosity overwhelming her patience, “you mean it’s something Sailor Moon had?”

“Did she use it as a weapon or something?”

The pinkette turned to Diana hopefully, wishing she would have an answer to the senshi’s inquiries, but the only answer they had was obviously not going to be the answer they wanted.

“I don’t know.  I’m actually not supposed to go into Mama’s room, so I never asked anybody about it…”

“And all I know is the little that Luna and Artemis told me.”

“There were all sorts of rare and interesting things in Mama’s room,” the day-dreamy voice of the small princess floated on.  “Like big paintings and books and gems!  And Mama’s snow-white bed is so soft and fluffy!  I would just roll around on it and stare at everything.  We went in there a lot, didn’t we Diana?”

Soft tears pricked at the corner of her eyes as she tried desperately to rub them away before anyone would notice, but not before the tall brunette reached out and softly ruffled her hair.

“Do you want to go home?”

“Nope!  I promised Mama that I wouldn’t go back until I became a genuine Guardian!”

With that announcement, the pinkette rushed off.  “Mamo-chan might be home by now so I’m gunna go check his place.”

The senshi all watched as the small child passed through the automatic door before the miko turned to notice the soft smile that remained on the brunette’s face since she had spoken to the pinkette.

“You seem rather protective of the little princess’ well-being, Mako-chan.”

The brunette turned to face the miko before offering a shrug.  “I just can’t help but feel for her.  She’s trying to act tough, even when she’s just a little squirt.”

Amethyst orbs dropped to the ground, concerned that the words spoken may have brought about thoughts that the thunder senshi had rather kept buried.  “I-I see…please, forgive me I didn’t mean to overstep my bounds.”

“Aw, your fine Rei-chan!”  The brunette announced as she grabbed the firebrand into a headlock to ruffle her hair.  “I gotta keep it together to make sure the rest of the squirts here make it out okay.”

The martian warrior tugged at the arm, before finally pulling herself out of the headlock and pushing the brawler, causing her to stumble backwards as she fell gracelessly on the floor.

The miko gave the thunder senshi a disapproving look.  “I’m not some helpless child, Mako-chan.  I know how to take care of myself.”

“Yeah?”  The brunette questioned cheerily as she laughed on the ground, crossing her legs to get comfortable.  “If you say so.”

A soft scowl threatened to form across the martian warrior’s face before it transformed into a devious smirk.  She reached out her hand slightly as the brunette continued giggling in her spot, before it turned into yelps of frustration.

“Gyah!  Woah, jeez Rei-chan, what was that for?!”

“You seemed unconvinced of my capabilities, so I thought a demonstration may be in order, however, if you’re too afraid of getting burned than playing with fire would be highly inadvisable.”

“Oh, so that’s how you want to play it, huh?”  The brunette asked with a confident grin spreading across her face as she punched the palm of her hand, sparks crackling between her fingers.  “Well, let’s see how you like playing with-”

“Hey, what are you two talking about?”

“Gyah!  What are you two doing!  Be careful with those powers!  Do you know how much it costs to replace just one of these machines?”

Makoto turned red at being admonished by the arcade employee while the miko simply rolled her eyes at the behavior.  It was obvious the brunette wasn’t quite over her crush on the young college student.

“I apologize, Furuhata-san.”  The shrine maiden spoke softly as she bowed slightly.  “I shouldn’t have encouraged this.”

“Yeah, sorry Furu-chan!  I promise it won’t happen again!”

“Hey-Hey, it’s alright girls,” the blond tried to placate after the brunette’s flustered apology.  “It’s just that I know your command center can rebuild the arcade's architectural structure, but the games take time and money to get shipped in.  And I don’t want to give my uncle any reason to believe I can’t handle this job, so just be careful with the powers, ‘Kay?”

“Of course.”

“Yeah!  Anything you need Furu-chan!”

The young man laughed, wished them luck on their studies and offered them a wink before walking off to continue sweeping up the candy wrappers that littered the ground near the crane game as an emerald gaze refused to detach from the sight of him.  The miko turned her head towards the love-sick brawler, noticing the soft red shade that overtook the brunette’s cheeks and the sparkles that shimmered in her eyes as the emerald softened to take a dreamy look.  The shrine maiden had to turn away.

She didn’t want to look at those eyes unless they were for her.

“Mako-chan!  Hey Mako-chan, I’m talking to you!  You gotta hear what I’ve found for your-”

The entranced brunette continued to stare off into space, offering soft mumbles in response to the blonde’s demands for attention.

Until she felt a shiver next to her.

The brunette shook out of her reverie to look towards the sensation when she noticed the ravenette, gaze averted with one hand grasping her elbow.

She looked so alone.

The brunette couldn't help but feel bad.  The brawler wanted to help the elusive shrine maiden, but she couldn't think of a way to get her to break out of her shell.

Then an idea hit her.

“Anyways, that’s every boy I’ve met that could be potentials for your- wait, Mako-chan, are you even-”

THWUNK

“Tag, your it!”

The firebrand stumbled slightly as she held her shoulder and turned to glare at the brunette.  “Mako-chan, what are you-?”

“Catch me if you can, slowpoke!”

The brunette rushed out the automatic door as the miko watched in uncertainty and shock before a soft smile crossed her lips while she shook her head.  She idly strode towards the exit as a bewildered blonde tried to reel back her attention.

“Rei-chan, what gives!  Why is Mako-chan ignor- Hey!  Don’t you ignore me, too!”

But it was too late.  The miko had left the arcade as she leisurely strolled in the opposite direction the brunette had charged in while the blonde remained behind steaming.

“What is _with_ everyone today?  Mako-chan doesn’t care about her love life and Rei-chan’s playing children’s games?  It’s like everything decided to be backwards today!”

“Actually Mina-chan, you still haven’t gotten any studying done for today, so I’d say that your stalling capabilities have remained unchanged by the situation.”

“UUUUGGGGHHHH!!!!!”

The bluenette shook her head as she got up to move towards the blonde.  “Mina-chan, I know I’m being pushy with exam studies, but this is a big step for us in our education.  If you’re not dedicated, you could very well end up falling behind.”

“Hey!  I’m dedicated!  Look at this!”

Blue eyes glanced over the small notebook the athlete presented, taking it from the blonde’s hand to inspect the cover further.  “Makoto’s Man-Hunting Mission-Log of Love by Minako?”

“Precisely!”  The blonde announced with her head held high.

“That’s… quite the title, Mina-chan.”

“Thank you!  I’ve been practicing my all-letter-nation!”

A silence settled over them as the bluenette stared at the blonde, completely dumbfounded by her enthusiastic friend.  “It’s… alliteration Mina-chan.”

“Please!"  The blonde choked out in her hearty laughter.  "Ami-chan, I may not be as smart as you are, but I at least know that... that whatever word you said isn't a real word!"

The bookworm rolled her eyes as she browsed through the booklet, eyebrows rising at certain points.  “You were going to recommend someone who wouldn’t let you go to the restroom during the Mimi Hanyû concert?”

“Hey, he was cute!”  The blonde defended quickly, crossing her arms in an authoritative motion.  “Besides, he’s probably a nice person!  You know, when he’s not all brainwashed and all…”

“Right…” the bluenette muttered with skepticism lacing her tone.  “Mina-chan, why are you focusing so much attention on this anyway?”

“Oh, you see, while I was snooping through Mako-chan’s diary a little while back, I realized that she had been having all these misadventures in love due to a ‘love fortune’ she received from one ‘Hino Rei,’ and I can’t let _her_ best me in finding Mako-chan’s true love!”

“Um…” the bluenette paused.  "When did this become a competition between you and Rei-chan?"

“Wha- uh- Ami-chan!  What kind of a Guardian of Love would I be if I let some crabby curmudgeon like Rei beat me at finding Mako-chan’s true love?!  I mean, seriously Ami-chan, she doesn’t even _like_ boys.”

The bluenette pinched the bridge of her nose as she seriously regretted entertaining a conversation so ridiculous.  “I don’t think that’s relevant to Rei-chan’s fortune-telling abilities _nor_ to your duties as a sailor guardian.”

“Wait a minute!”  The blonde shouted as her face lit up with revelation before turning towards the bluenette.  “Do you think Rei-chan has a crush on-”

“ _And_ I don’t think any of this mess is relevant to your high school entrance exams!”  The scholar announced with renewed vigor as she spoke through the blonde’s wonderings.  “So, let’s continue our studies so that we can all move on to high school together!”

“Whuh- No!  Ami-chaaaaaaaan!”

“This is important Mina-chan!”  The scholar announced as she tried to haul the blonde by the arm back to their work space.  “Education is the foundation for the future.  I know you’ll thank me later!”

A loud “hmph” escaped the blonde as she attempted to cross her arms in defiance, though the grip the bookworm had on her bicep made that more difficult than it was worth.  Instead she allowed herself to be dragged across the arcade as her eyes wandered the games, before setting her sights on the most familiar one.

“Whuh- Mina-chan?!  Get back here!”

But the blonde ignored the bookworm, running straight to the _Sailor V_ arcade game as she grabbed her seat and took the controls with the bluenette arriving quickly in tow.

“Mina, what are you-?”

The question died as the bluenette watched the sailor leader type strange, but familiar characters into the game’s password input before a red screen flashed at them.

_RESULTS NOT FOUND_

The blonde hummed in thought as the red continued to blare against the screen while the scholar let her bewilderment be heard.  “Mina-chan?  What are you doing.”

Blue eyes gazed back at the confused bluenette before turning back to the screen as the blonde held her chin up with her enclosed hands.  “What do you know about the ‘Legendary Holy Grail?’”

The bluenette tilted her head slightly as she looked towards the ceiling, letting her eyes run across all the words she’d read and kept stored in her mind.  “Well, many different cultures and religions held goblets that they would refer to by that name, however the effects were supposed to purify the person who drank from it, not grant them powers to save the world.”  The bookworm turned her attention back to the blonde, “Do you have any idea what it could be?”

“No idea…” the words fell softly as the senshi leader sat up to better focus on the screen.  “No matter how much I try to look back, I can’t remember anything that even comes close to the description Chibi-Usa gave us.”

“Perhaps it’s a new item that Sailor Moon will gain later.”  The bluenette suggested, but the blonde simply shook her head.

“All the power that Sailor Moon would ever need should come from the Legendary Silver Crystal, but if there’s an item that is required for her to gain more strength…”

The pause settled between the two as the as red streaks continued to flash against the blonde’s face.  “What are we up against, if such an item is needed to ‘save the populace.’”

“I’m sure everything will be fine Mina-chan.”  The bookworm consoled offering her sincerest smile.  “Besides, every time that Sailor Moon has needed more power to battle the enemy, the key to victory has always appeared.  It may be best for us to remain patient and trust in her strength.”

Blue eyes gazed at the soft ice color of the bookworm’s before the blonde groaned, placing her head in her arms and pouting.  “I hate waiting!”

The bluenette rolled her eyes as she placed a comforting hand on the blonde’s shoulder.  “I’m well aware of that, however, if the ‘Holy Grail’ and this enemy are bothering you so much, we could go to the command center and try doing some extra research into these things?”

Stars shone in the blonde’s eyes as she rose from her seat to hold the bluenette’s hands and cheer.  “Ami-chan!  You mean, you’ll let our exam studies for today slide!”

“Well, this is relevant to our current mission.  Besides, it’ll be good practice on how to research information, and _that_ will definitely come in handy for the exam!”

The blonde’s face fell as she let go of the bluenette’s hands.  “Ami-chan, how come you always make mission work sound so _boooring?!_ ”

The bluenette giggled as she typed in the passcode to open up the command center below, before turning with a small smirk towards the blonde.  “You know, if you confronted your exams with the same amount of vigor as you do our missions, you would pass without any problems.”

“You really think so?!”

“Of course I do Mina-chan.”  The bookworm spoke with a soft smile crossing her face.  “After all, you’re our leader.  And I know that whenever you make up your mind on something, you don't let anything get in your way.”

The blonde paused, frozen in the words spoken by the ice senshi before shaking her head vigorously and beaming with her biggest grin possible.  “Well, when you put it that way, then let’s do this full throttle!  To save the world and get into high school!”

* * *

 

The wind blew softly as the brunette looked out into the distance.  There was a time when she would’ve refused to be where she was now, but time tends to have a way of changing one’s perspective on things.

Like, how heights are a lot less scary when one knows how to fly.

“Boo…”

The brunette sighed before looking up, amethyst orbs that drilling down into her.  “Rei-chan, you’re not supposed to say ‘boo’ in a game of tag.”

“Well, I didn’t exactly ‘tag’ you either now did I.”

The brunette scrunched her face in thought as the shrine maiden walked around her to take a seat next to the brawler on the roof.  “Meh, I guess if you want to get all technical and all.”

“I suppose I would if it means we don’t have to keep chasing each other across the city,” the miko deadpanned as her eyes scoured the scene.  “Besides, the view from here is quite spectacular.”

Emerald orbs panned the scene, looking out over the rooftops, and buildings, with the sea expanding beyond the city, glistening under her gaze.  A soft smile glanced across the brawler’s face.  “I’m glad you like it.”

The shrine maiden returned the smile as she watched the brunette gaze out beyond the skyline.  Her gaze fell to her lap as her fingers danced with each other under the amethyst spotlight.  “Mako-chan… is everything okay?”

The brunette hummed softly as she turned towards the miko.  “Yeah, of course!  Actually, I was wondering if everything was okay with you.”

“Of course,” the miko responded with a soft smile.  “I was just worried about you.  You seemed rather upset about something when you entered the arcade so…”

“Oh…”  The word dropped as the brunette turned her gaze back out to the scene before her, rubbing the back of her neck.  “I-I’m fine.  I appreciate your concern, but, I mean, it’s nothing you need to worry about.”

“And if I choose to worry about it?”

The brunette sighed deeply as she could feel the amethyst gaze taking in every movement that would counter every denial she could offer.  “Do you really wanna hear about it?”

“Only if you want to talk about it.”  The soothing voice resounded as emerald eyes glanced over at the shrine maiden who welcomed the gaze with a soft smile.

A soft chuckle escaped the brunette as she leaned back against the roof-top, using her hands to cradle the back of her head and looking up at the sky.  “I’m beginning to wonder if my problem is I talk too much…”

“Truly?  I never thought that could produce a problem.”

The brunette turned back to the shrine maiden to offer a credulous look before returning it for a humorless chuckle.  “I guess that makes sense.  You tend to keep things to yourself.  Not that that’s a bad thing, it’s just…”

The miko watched the brunette patiently as she waited for the brawler to finish her thought, but she never did.  The shrine maiden instead turned her gaze back to the city that was laid out in front of her as she let her thoughts wander back to the arcade.  “Chibi-Usa has quite the strength of will, doesn’t she?”

“I’ll say,” the brunette agreed as she pushed herself up to her elbows.  “When I was her age- er, well, in her grade, I would’ve given anything to be back with my parents.”

A soft hand moved to an elegant necklace as amethyst orbs looked out into the empty space that existed between her thoughts and the skyline before her.  “Me too…”

“Rei-chan,” the brunette called as she moved to sit back up next to her friend.  “I’m sorry, I just keep running my mouth and bringing these things up.  You don’t-”

“It’s fine Mako-chan…” the miko assured as she turned her gaze upon the brunette.  “Besides, I’m sure you’re already aware of my family situation.”

A pause settled between the two before the brunette dropped her gaze to release her confession.  “Yeah, I did ask Ami-chan about it.  I-I didn’t mean to snoop or anything, but after knowing you for a little bit I began to wonder…”

Silence returned to the two as they both focused their gazes at the alleyway bellow, both becoming lost in their own memories.

“Do you miss them?”

A piercing emerald gaze shifted towards the flushed features of the shrine maiden.  “I mean… I apologize, that was rather personal of-”

“You’re fine…” the brunette deadpanned as she continued to look out to the city.  “Honestly, I’m not sure if I can say I really miss them as much as I would've liked to meet them, you know.”

“Do you not remember them at all?”

A subtle shrug was offered in response.  “I mean, I remember a little.  The warmth of my mom next to me as she read me to sleep, the strong arms of my father as he’d toss me in the air.  You know, those fuzzy images that you can’t really tell if their real or not beyond the feeling that they simply… are.  Of course, what I remember most wasn’t as much the things they did, as much as it was their absence.”

The miko hummed in response as she let her finger glaze across the medallion on her necklace.  “I see.”

“It’s not like life was all that bad, I mean, I did have fantastic god parents to look after me.”  The brunette answered quickly as her gaze looked around again.  “It’s just… I mean, they were really close to my parents.  They’re an elderly couple who looked after my father while he was growing up.  They’re not my actual grandparents, but they kinda felt like that with all the pictures and stories they had of my parents.  I just kinda felt… lost… Like I was simply making my way into a family that I had no place in or something… I don’t know…”

“I see…” the miko informed as she let her hand fall from her necklace to the space between her and her friend.

The brunette offered a sheepish grin to her.  “Sorry, you probably didn’t want to hear all of that, did you?”

“It’s okay Mako-chan,” the miko consoled as she turned her gaze back to the brunette.  “I was prying.  I should’ve respected your space.”

A soft chuckle escaped the brawler as she leaned slightly forward.  “You’re fine, I don’t really mind talking about these things.  It’s just, I’ve learned that not everyone cares for my sob stories.”

“I care…”

The fortune teller faked a cough to hide the mumble as she felt the emerald gaze bore onto her.  “I mean, about whatever you’d want to say.”  The shrine maiden tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear as she turned amethyst orbs towards the brunette.  “Whenever there’s anything you want to talk about, I’ll be more than willing to hear it.”

A furrowed brow rose at the statement, before the brunette turned and hummed softly to herself in thought.

The soft smile began to falter as the shrine maiden turned her gaze back to the alleyways below.

“Say, can I… can I ask you something?”

“Of course,” the ravenette answered, too quickly to really think through why her friend would ask such a thing.

“What was it like when you lived with your parents?”

Silence fell between the two as they both looked out over the rooftops to the distant sea.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have-”

“You’re fine…” the soft voice of the shrine maiden buzzed in the air.  “I’ve asked you just as much…”

A silence fell upon the two again as the subject echoed in each persons’ mind.

“How old were you?” the fortune teller asked before regretting it.  “…If you don’t mind me asking that is…”

“Four.”

The answer dropped into the alley as the shrine maiden watched it fall into the streets below.  “I was seven when my mother passed.”

“Rei-chan-”

“It’s alright Mako-chan,” the soft voice floated as the miko turned her attention to the brunette.  “It’s just… my father was always at work.  Always doing some campaign, or going to dinners with important funders.  It… it always felt like he was already gone, even if he was still there.  And Ma-Mama…”

The shrine maiden turned away to clear her throat, cursing herself for choking up in the moment.  Feeling absolutely flustered and foolish for daring to open up to someone.

Then she felt a soft hand wrap around her own.

She whipped her head around to make sure that what she felt was real, before following the arm back up to the emerald sparkles in the brunette’s eyes.  “You can stop if you want.  You don’t have to tell me…”

A single tear slid down the miko’s cheek as she quickly wiped it away with her free hand and offered a smile.  “It’s okay Mako-chan.  To answer your original question, I loved my parents, and wanted desperately to be a part of their lives, but with my father’s work and my mother’s health… it was lonely… as if my parents were somewhere in a space I couldn’t reach, even when we were all sitting together at the dinner table...”

“Rei-chan…”

“It’s fine Mako-chan.”  The shrine maiden gave the brunette a soft smile as she twisted her hand to enclose the brunette’s.  “I may not have had a place in my parents’ lives, but I know I have a place here.”

The fortune teller offered the brunette’s hand a soft squeeze.  “I feel far less alone being here.”

The brunette offered a small smile as she looked back over her new home.  “Yeah, this is where we’re meant to be.”

The ravenette rose as she stretched her arms above her.  “Shall we head off?  Ami-chan will be upset with us if we don’t get at least some studying done.”

“Yeah…” the brunette rose, taking one final look across the landscape that stretched beyond her home.  Her eyes became locked onto the massive tower that stood before all the others in the center of the distant delta.  She could feel it from there.

The wind was getting agitated.

The time of destruction was coming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I gotta say... Sailor Venus was actually my least favorite character in Sailor Moon, but writing for her is soooooo much fun! I think I may have to write a fanfic that focuses on her at some point, because she is a pretty great character. Anyways, I hope everyone enjoyed the update. Please kudos, comment and look forward to more updates of War's Greatest Fortune!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! Welcome to another update of War's Greatest Fortune! It feels kinda weird writing this while doing Where the Sky Meets the Sea, mainly because that fic only has one update left while this one still has a bit to go, but it is what it is. In any case, I thank everyone here for your continued support and appreciate every reader. Please feel free to comment or kudos and I hope you enjoy the update =)

Emerald eyes fluttered open as slender arms stretched upward and the brunette released a heavy yawn.

_What had happened?_

She tried desperately to think back on the events of the past few days.  There was that plant, and then Pluto came back, but they were all fighting because Hotaru-

That’s right!  Hotaru!

The brunette rushed to the window of her room to look out to the city beyond.

If this is what a post-apocalypse looked like, then she must have been living in one her entire life.

She gave a sigh of relief before more thoughts began to invade her mind.  Hotaru was reborn and the outer senshi mentioned that they were going to raise her as their own child.  So, wait a minute-!

The communicator on her dresser began to buzz as she rushed over to grab it.  “Usagi!  What’s going on?  Why am I back home?  The last thing I remember-!”

“I know Mako-chan!  Chibi-Usa and I are heading to Haruka-san’s right now.  Rei-chan said she’d be by your place so that you could check on Setsuna-san.”

“Huh?  But wait-!”

The communicator shut off as the brawler watched the blonde fizz out of her vision.  She cursed under her breath as she rushed to get ready before hearing a knock at the door.

“You can come in you know!”

The doorknob fiddled, before pausing like it was taking a moment to remember that it was locked.  Silence ensued as the brunette threw on a long skirt and reached out to the long-sleeved turtleneck she’d thrown on her bed.  The door began to fiddle again before clicking, creaking open to reveal the shrine maiden, wearing a short dress with knee high black boots that didn’t quite seem to match.  She slowly came into view as she watched the brunette struggle to put on her heels.

“Mako-chan, are you sure those are wise-?”

The bruette grabbed three necklaces and a hairband from her dresser before grabbing the ravenette’s hand and dragging her out.

“No time, let’s go!”

* * *

 

The duo barreled through the door as they shouted for the woman of their search.

“Setsuna-san!”

She wasn’t there.

In fact, there was neither person nor thing within the room they stumbled into.

Their gazes panned the scene as they slowly wandered around the empty space, wondering how long they must have been out if the scientist could clear out her room so thoroughly.

Then suddenly, the sound of running propellers approached their ears.

The two rushed to the balcony as they watched three helicopters rise up into the air leaving behind a melancholy in their wake as they flew towards the new destiny they had created for themselves.

At least they got to see them off.

A humorless chuckle escaped the brunette at the thought as amethyst orbs turned in concern towards the brunette, before stopping herself, unsure what to do to really comfort her friend in this moment.  She remained silent, letting her gaze look off the balcony as she allowed the silence to reign dominant in the situation.

“I guess they’re really gone, aren’t they?”

The near whisper of the words rang throughout the empty space around them as the shrine maiden rested her elbows on the balcony railing.  “For now, though I’m sure this farewell will be short lived.”

“Guess you would know,” the brunette responded, discouragement weighing her words down.  “I just wish people would leave with a proper goodbye instead of just… leaving…”

A soft hand rested on the broad shoulder as the emerald gaze turned to meet amethyst.  “I’m not going anywhere.”

The brunette paused slightly, taking in the soft smile the shrine maiden wore as her eyes twinkled with all the promise in the world.  The brunette turned away as she let loose a humorless chuckle.  “Yeah, well, thanks.  I mean, the only thing that’d make this more depressing is if you just randomly left me here.”

The smile faltered as the miko slowly returned her hand to have her forearm support her against the balcony, fumbling over a response.  “Ri-.. um…-”

“I’m sorry, that was stupid of me to say.”  The brunette admitted as she pushed further into the balcony railing before pushing off to turn her back to the world.  “I mean, I’m just frustrated right now, and I shouldn’t pin that on you-”

“You wanted to see Haruka-san one last time, didn’t you?”

A soft blush crept across the brunette’s face as she turned towards the ravenette.  “How did you know that?!”

Amethyst orbs rolled as they stared at the building they had just fought for their lives in.  “I’m a fortune teller, both in hobby and career.  There’s very little that comes as a surprise to me.”

The brunette sighed as she rested her arms behind her on the balcony again.  “I was a jerk to… to Haruka.   I wanted to apologize to… I just wanted to apologize.”

“None of us treated the others with much benevolence.”  The miko admitted as her gaze dropped.  “However, I don’t believe there’s any grudges held on either side.”

“Yeah…” the brunette affirmed as she let her fingers intertwine with each other before taking them back.  Fidgeting as much as she could while turning to lean forward against the balcony.

Silence returned as the brunette started to shift from one foot to the other, biting her lip as the silence began to eat away at her.

“You okay Mako-chan?”

She released a sigh, there was never any hiding from the fortune teller.  “I… I just… I mean… I can talk to you about anything, right?”

“Of course, Mako-chan,” the shrine maiden affirmed, letting no pause give space for doubt.  “I’ve told you just as much, haven’t I?”

“I just… I mean, Haruka-san, he- I mean, not that, um… do you-?”

“I apologize, but I am unsure as to what Haruka-san’s gender would be.”

The brunette turned away.  “Yeah, that was stup-”

“Although, if I were to hazard a guess,” the ravenette interrupted to stop the brunette from belittling herself.  “I would guess that Haruka-san might be gender fluid.”

A brown eyebrow quirked in the face of the miko, “What’s that?”

“From my understanding,” the shrine priestess began as she stared at her hands.  “Gender fluidity is when someone doesn’t necessarily identify with a single gender, but may identify as one gender in one instance, while identifying with another in the next.”

The brunette turned away as a soft scoff escaped from her lips.  “How could you say you were unsure?  That basically describes Haruka-san to a ‘T.’”

Slender shoulders shrugged subtly as amethyst peeked over to look at the brunette’s expression on her next statement.  “Haruka-san didn’t tell me how they would like to be identified.  It’s not my place to determine what that identity might be.”

The emerald gaze met amethyst for a moment, before disconnecting with a sigh.  “I’d never heard of any of this before.”

The miko shook her head as her gaze looked back out on the horizon.  “It’s not largely discussed unfortunately.”

“So, then Michiru and Haruka… I mean… they…?”

The words tumbled out as the brunette manipulated her hands awkwardly as she tried to convey the missing blanks that she couldn’t speak of.  The miko rolled her eyes as she turned around.  “Yes, Haruka and Michiru are a couple that doesn’t _necessarily_ involve a man and a woman.  Although they may convey a straight couple, that’s not the foundation of their relationship.”

“But… they both can be… I mean, that’s not…”

The ravenette quirked an eyebrow at the bumbling brunette who continued to stumble over her fallen words before the miko picked them up for her.  “Are you finding issue with that kind of relationship, Mako-chan?”

“No!  Of course not, I-I mean, I just…” the brunette paused, noticing the hardening amethyst boring into her soul with a hint of defensiveness.  The brunette sighed.  She couldn't lie to her friend, but, more than anything, she also believed the truth would lead to a solution.

“The truth is, I've heard those terms, but... I mean... I didn't think that people actually...” the brunette sighed, turning around as she slid against the balcony railing to fall to the floor while memories of a certain blond kohai entered her mind.  “I just thought it was nothing more than teases or jokes or something, and not actually a- well, not anything more than that…”

A thick silence settled between them as the miko began to clench the railing at the news the brunette offered.  An emerald gaze looked hopefully towards the ravenette who continued to stare out with a clenched jaw.  The brunette sighed as she dropped her gaze to her lap.

“I fucked up Rei-chan.”

“What makes you say that?”

The tone was even as the ravenette refused to move her gaze from the buildings rising in the background, making the brunette certain she was mad at her.

“Because you hate me now.”

“Mako-chan-”

“But that’s okay,” the brunette stated, interrupting the ravenette’s irritated tone.  “Because Asanuma-kun hates me too.”

A tentative eyebrow quirked towards the brunette as the miko tried to relax from her defensive stance.  “I didn’t realize you had talked to him recently.”

“Yeah, actually, I talked to him that day when Chibi-Usa brought in her ‘Holy Grail’ project.  Remember that day?”

The shrine maiden nodded as she stared out towards the horizon.  “Is that what upset you that day?”

“I was so stupid.”  The brunette confessed as she ignored the clanging sound her head made when she threw it back.  “I mean, I thought maybe he loved me, so I tried talking to him about it, but then…”

A sigh escaped the brunette as she continued to stare in her lap.  “He told me he was gay.  And… I mean… I just couldn’t believe it.  I thought he was just saying that as an excuse because he couldn't give me a legitimate reason or.”

“Mako-chan, really-”

“I know!  It was stupid!”  The brunette shouted, interrupting the ravenette’s admonishment.  “I mean, I always joked that he had a man-crush on Mamo-san, but I just thought that was, I don’t know, like Mina-chan drooling over Mimi Hanyû from Mugen.  Like, she admired and absolutely loved her like she does every other idol that gets a poster hung in a shop window, but that didn’t mean she had any romantic interest in her and…”

The brunette gave a sigh, refusing to meet the firebrand’s gaze.  “And I just didn’t think about it seriously enough to realize how real his feelings for Mamo-san might be, or how others must feel about the way I discussed it…”

Emerald orbs peeked to the side as they attempted to find amethyst.  “And now I’m hurting people because of it.  I hurt Asanuma-kun, and I know I hurt you.”  The brunette turned to give the miko her full attention.  “And I’m so sorry Rei-chan.”

The ravenette released a sigh as all the tension in her body seemed to escape her, before looking back towards the brunette.  “I’ll find your apology sufficient.  I do believe that your ignorance doesn’t come with intentional malice.”

“I promise it doesn’t!”  The brunette defended as she shifted in her spot to turn towards the ravenette.  “I promise I’d never do or say anything to intentionally offend you, I just…” the brunette paused as she lifted her knees to her chin.  “I just didn't know... and I don’t know how to make it up to Asanuma-kun now.”

The miko lowered to sit next to the brunette, with her legs turning to one side.  “As long as you apologize and continue to be accept him for who he is, I’m sure he’ll forgive you.”

“I hope so, I mean-” the brunette paused as an exasperated sigh escaped her.  “I just wish I’d known about this earlier so that I didn’t make an idiot of myself by making him so uncomfortable, I mean, how did you learn about all this stuff.”

“You learn about it fast when people harass you with those terms because you show no interest in dating men.”  The miko deadpanned as she turned her gaze back toward the balcony.  “’Man-hater’ is actually one of the more tame labels people have called me.”

The brunette shook her head as she lowered her head.  “I’m really sorry Rei-chan.  Honestly, I didn’t mean to offend you, I just…”

There was a pause as the brunette stared into the empty room before them.  “I just don’t want to keep pushing people away.”

The miko sighed, as a stray hand partially rested itself atop the brunette’s.  “I already told you I’m not going anywhere.”

Emerald eyes widened at the miko, before the brunette flung her arms around the miko’s shoulders.  “Thanks so much Rei-chan. I was scared you’d want to leave me too after…”

The shrine maiden froze, taken aback by the sudden gesture as she tried to remember what the appropriate response was to such a hug.  Tentatively her hands rose to the brunette’s back as she held the other woman there softly.  “Asanuma-kun means a lot to you, doesn’t he?”

“Yeah, he does…” the brunette admitted as her arms began to relax.  “I mean, I didn’t think anything serious would come out of our friendship, but…”

The brunette leaned out of the hug as she sighed.  “I didn’t want it to end.”

“I’m sure things will be okay,” the miko responded as she offered the brunette a soft smile.  “I can tell you care too much about him to let your previous judgments override your relationship.”

“Yeah…” the brunette breathed as she lifted her head to the sky and exhaled.  She promised she would find a way to make things right.

Mumbling came from a wristwatch as the ravenette responded to the muffled sounds before turning back to the brunette.  “Usagi and the others are heading towards us.  Are you ready to go?”

“Sure,” the brunette answered as she slowly got up, watching as the ravenette walk ahead of her, “Hey, Rei-chan?”

The fortune teller turned as her amethyst eyes shone with bewilderment.  “Yes, Mako-chan?”

“I…” the brawler paused as she began to stare at her feet.  The heels really weren’t the best idea for that day, but that wasn’t the issue.  “I just- I just want you to know that you’re important to me too.”  The brunette paused as she dared to peek back at the miko.  “So, if I do or say anything that upsets you… will you just please give me the opportunity to make things right?”

A soft smile crept upon the miko’s face as she turned to face the brawler fully.  “Of course, Mako-chan, but I will say I’m not expecting to have to.  The moments you offend me are very few and far between.”

A relieved sigh escaped the brunette as she let her gratitude shine in her eyes.  “Thanks Rei-chan, that means a lot.”

The ravenette hummed as she nodded, before opening the door and gesturing towards the thunder senshi.  “After you.”

The brunette giggled softly before walking casually over, only to curtsy to the young woman at the door.  “Why thank you, kind deer.”

The ravenette rolled her eyes as she followed the brunette out the door.  “Let’s just get back to the others."

Mirthful laugher escaped the brunette and a soft smile crept across the miko.

And the door closed, leaving all the emptiness behind them. 

* * *

 

DING DONG

The brunette waited as she fidgeted from one foot to the other, waiting for a response from the wooden door in front of her.

Shift to left foot.

Shift to right foot.

DING DO-

“You need to leave,” a small blonde girl stated as she opened the door.  “My big brother doesn’t want to talk to you.”

“Kaya-chan, I know I hurt your big brother,” the brunette said soflty, leaning over to be more eye level with the little girl.  “But I promise, I’m here to make things right.”

“Hmph, is that so?”  The young blonde huffed as she turned away.  “Well, I’m sorry, but Big brother is very busy and-”

“Come on Kay-chan, just let her in.”

Crystal blue eyes shone at the young man approaching the door as an exasperated expression took over the little sister’s face.  “But- But Numa-san!”

“No ‘buts’ Kay,” the kohai affirmed as he bent over to ruffle the blonde hair of his sister.  “I know you’re just looking out for me, but I can manage my own affairs.”

Blue eyes stared into the depth of Asanuma’s resolve before turning to look at the uncertain look that overtook Makoto’s face.  She gave a final ‘hmph’ before walking away and leaving the two at the doorway, with the brunette scratching the back of her head.  “Man, Kaya-chan really likes to take charge around here.”

“I thought I told you that we shouldn’t see each other anymore.”

The soft despondent voice came with no eye contact as the brunette stumbled around the message she had prepared for just this moment.  “I-I know you said that, but… I mean, I know…”

The blonde offered no interjection, simply waiting for the brunette to offer her explanation as to why she was present on his doorstep.

She inhaled deeply.

She exhaled slowly.

“Look, it was wrong of me to say that… that your feelings weren’t real.  It’s just… I mean.”

She released a sigh as her gaze dropped to the ground.  “I was ignorant.  And I’m sorry.”

A pause settled between them, neither moving from their place as the apology sank in.  Then the self-styled chef extended a peace offering.

“And I brought you rose tea.”

Blue eyes gazed upon the box before chuckling lightly.

“Well, that’s not gonna do me any good if no one’s gonna brew it.”

Emerald eyes widened as hope crept across her face in a smile.

“You mean-”

The door crept further open as the blonde nodded into the house.  The brunnete bounced on her feet before giving a dramatic bow.  “One rose tea coming up dear sir!”

She giggled softly as the blonde followed with an eye-roll and a light chuckle.  The brunette bounded into the kitchen as she began poking through every cabinet available.

“Um, the tea kettle’s in that top cabinet.”

“Oh, I’m not just making you tea,” the brunette announced as she turned beaming a fantastic smile.  “Moments like these deserve a full course meal!!”

“Gyah!  Makoto-sempai, please!  The tea alone will be fine!  Besides, my mom will get upset if you’re here past curfew, and I know you’ll take all the time necessary to make a quality dish!”

The smile began to fade as the errant chef looked into the fridge.  “Now that you mention it, you don’t have a lot to work with here.”

“My family mainly eats take out.”  The blonde explained as he moved to grab some tea cups.

The brunette whined as her head hung in the fridge.  “That’s even more reason I should home cook you something.”

“Well, how about this,” the blond began setting the cups on the island while grabbing a seat for himself.  “We have the tea today while we chat, and then next time we can go to your place where I know you will whip up something fantastic.”

Emerald eyes glanced pitifully at the young man as the brunette pouted.  “You’re sure that’s okay?”

“Honestly Makoto-sempai…” the blonde paused as he fondled the empty tea cup in front of him.  “More than anything, I just want some answers.”

The emerald gaze fell as the brunette closed the fridge to fully face the blonde.  “Yeah, I guess I do owe you some of those.”

A pause settled between the two as each person waited for the other to speak, but no one wanted to broach the topic.  It wasn’t until Asanuma dared to voice a concern that the silence was broken.

“It’s taking the tea a while to brew.”

“Ah, dammit!”

The brunette cussed as she rushed to get the tea kettle out of the cabinet the blonde had specified, leaving the young man chuckling while the brunette smiled softly at the sound.  At least he didn’t seem _too_ upset with her being there.

She filled the tea kettle with water and turned on the stove, leaving it to heat as she turned back to the blonde.  She was half hoping that if she cooked Asanuma-kun a meal, she wouldn’t be able to focus on how self-conscious she was about the entire topic, but she knew he deserved answers.  “So… um… what do you want to know?”

A heavy sigh caused shoulders to droop as the blonde peeked a glance at the brunette.  “What do you think… of… us?”

The emerald gaze dropped as the brunette searched the floor for her answer.  “The truth is… I’m not in love with you either.”

“Then-”

“It’s well, long story short, I was talking to Unazuki-san about this love fortune Rei-chan gave me, and she thought that the person I loved might… be… you…”

A pause settled as emerald orbs dared to peek at the young blonde who simply stared into his tea cup.

And then he laughed.

SHREEEEEEEEEEE

The brunette shook out her confusion as she rushed over to grab the tea cups, distracting herself with pouring the beverages and hoping to buy time to let the blush die down, until the blonde spoke up.

“I’m sorry Makoto-sempai, I just… I mean…”

Chuckles interrupted the young man’s thoughts as he tried desperately to calm himself.  “I just can’t help but find it ironic.”

The brunette dared to turn around to deliver the tea as she eyed the blonde curiously.  “What do you mean?”

“Well,” the blonde began as he grabbed his cup and took a quick sip.  “Unazuki-san asked if I was avoiding you because I liked you and... well... I told her it was complicated, which probably made her think that even more so.  So if she’s the center of all this, then I might’ve prevented all this by not avoiding you.”

A brown brow quirked as the blonde took another sip of his tea.  Soft chuckles escaped the brunette as she turned to face forward.  “It figures that Unazuki-san would give me bad advice.”

The cup clanked against the counter as the blonde shrugged.  “I’m sure her heart’s in the right place.  Of course, I never told her that I had no interest in women either…”

A pause settled between the two as the brunette stared into the rippling rose tea that rested before her, staring back at the emerald that resided there.  “Is that why you were avoiding me?”

Emerald eyes glanced over to the blonde who had gotten lost in his empty cup.  “You didn’t want me to know.”

The blonde sighed as his hands gripped tighter around the tea cup.  “Honestly, I didn’t want anyone to know.”

The brunette grabbed the empty cup and refilled it quickly, trying to make her friend as comfortable as possible while he discussed something so personal.  “So, why tell me?”

A soft chuckle escaped the blonde as he shook his head.  “Honestly, at first I thought you already knew.”

“Wait, really?!”

The blonde simply nodded towards the surprised brunette as he took another sip of his tea.  “Yeah, I mean, you were always talking about my 'man-crush' on Mamoru-sempai…”

The brunette’s jaw dropped slightly before she turned her gaze back to her tea.  “I-I’m sorry I-”

“It’s alright,” the blonde stated as he let his blue eyes gaze into the crystal blue that reflected from his tea.  “I know it’ll never be…”

A pause settled between the two as the brunette carefully wrapped a hand around her cup, taking her first sip of tea for the evening as the silence enveloped them.

“Sorry, that probably didn’t need to be-”

“It’s okay, Asanuma-kun,” the brunette assured as she let her cup rest back on the island.  “I should’ve known and been more sensitive to it.  I just…”

The brunette sighed as she let the hot tea warm the hands she cupped around them, wishing she knew how to help console her friend, but unsure how to make the whole ‘previous lives’ backstory not sound so exclusive.  She wanted him to feel like he didn’t have to be completely separated from them just because of their planetary destiny or whatever.

After all, he’s the one who helped her when Rei and Ami were kidnapped.

“Do you mind if I ask you a question?”

Emerald orbs snapped to the blonde as the brunette released an awkward chuckle.  “Oh, uh of course!  What do you need?”

The young man averted his gaze, fiddling with his cup to the point it was close to spilling.  “Why did you kiss me that one day.”

The brunette began to blush ferociously as she stuttered toward her tea cup.  “Uh, I mean… I just… it was only on the forehead you know!”

A soft chuckle escaped the blonde as he shook his head.  “It’s okay if you don’t wanna say-”

“Why did you say you wanted the power to protect me?”

Emerald orbs pulled away from the tea to gaze at the blond who lowered his head.

“Because it’s the truth…”

“Is there really nothing more to it than that?”

“Well, I mean, I wouldn’t think so,” the blond stated with a shrug of his shoulders.  “Is it odd to want to protect the people who are important to me?”

A humorless chuckle escaped the brunette.  “You know who you’re talking to, right?  I’m often told I’m too reckless when it comes to trying to protect people.”

The two friends laughed as they let a comfortable silence envelope them.  Drinking their tea as the minutes passed on.

“That was one of the things I admired most about you.”

“Hmm?”

“I mean,” the blonde scratched the back of his as he gathered his thoughts together.  “You’re so much of the person I wish I could be.  You’re strong, determined and fearless.  Just like Mamoru-sempai…”

The blue gaze stared back at him through his tea as he assessed himself internally.  “And I didn’t have the courage, strength or determination to confess to you what my true feelings were.  Or to Mamoru-sempai in that case.”

Silence enveloped them again as the brunette stared into her now empty cup, listening to the soft sips of the young man next to her.  “You asked about that kiss earlier, right?”

The blond head tilted at the brunette who offered a soft smile.  “It’s because I wanted to thank you for sharing some of your power with me.”

“Huh?”  Confusion riddled the young man’s face as he turned to look fully at the brunette.  “What do you mean ‘power?’  I don’t have anything like that!”

A soft giggle escaped the brunette as she shook her head.  “Power isn’t just the ability to fight you know.  You were the one who looked after me when I was sick, but more than that…”

The brunette paused, fully gathering her thoughts before she laid them bare.  “It was always easy for me to feel powerful when I know I’m stronger than most people out there, but you showed me that real strength comes from the ability to be brave, even when your vulnerable.”

A pause fell upon them as the brunette let a soft chuckle escape her.  “Sorry, that probably made no sense.”

The blonde shrugged as he began to lean over the counter.  “I think I understand… maybe.”

The brunette shook her head as a soft smile crept upon her lips.  “I knew that would be better communicated through an expression than actual words.”

The blond chuckled as he shook his head.  “Yeah, well, if it makes you feel better, what you just said made more sense than when you talked to me about having lightning powers and aliens abducting people.”

The two laughed as the brunette gathered their cups to refill their teas while the blond began to think to himself.  “Being vulnerable isn’t really what being a man is about…”

Emerald orbs rolled as the brunette delivered two more cups of tea.  “Heard that one.  Getting into fights on a daily basis didn’t necessarily make me popular, but it forged me into the person I needed to be…”

The brunette took a seat as she sipped at her tea.  “The others rely on me for my strength, that’s what makes me important to our destiny.  And it may be different, but I think love will work the same way.  I mean, I know people told me no one’s going to be interested in dating a ‘brawny girl,'  Saying I’d never get married if I continued to act like a boy, but I don’t believe that’s going to be a deterrent.”

Emerald orbs turned to crystal blue as she offered a soft smile.  “I believe that instead, it’s my strength that my love will need to rely on me for.  Just like I’m sure that your determination to keep what you love close will be what your love will need.”

The blonde blushed as he tightened his grip on his tea cup, tensing slighlty.  “Maybe…”

A silence settled in as they continued to sip at their tea, a final question gnawing away at the blonde’s mind.  “Makoto-sempai, I… you said you moved here after having your heart broken… right?”

An affirmative answer dropped from the brunette’s soft lips as she stared into her tea.  The blonde stared into his own cup as he watched the ripples ebb and flow.

“Would you go back to him if he said he wanted you?”

“That’s not gunna happen,” the brunette responded with a forced chuckle.  “I mean, he’s got a girlfriend and is happy…”

The brunette offered a knowing smile as she turned to the blond.  “And I know the only reason you’re asking is because of Mamoru-san.”

“I- I just…” the blond attempted to defend, before the fruitlessness of the attempt wore him down.  “Ugh, you’re right.  I just…” a pause settled in as the blond sighed.  “How do you get over something like that?”

“I became a senshi,” the brunette snarkily admitted as she gave a quick laugh.  “It really helps to distract from things like that.”

The blond offered a quick laugh as he shook his head.  “You never look back, do you?”

The brunette shrugged as she took a sip of her tea.  “I’m where I need to be, and so long as I am where I’m needed love will come.  I’m sure of it.”

“Yeah…” the blonde breathed out the word before raising his tea cup.  “Well, here’s to us finding our true loves.”

The brunette chuckled as she clanked her tea cup against his.  Love had to be out there for them.

She was sure of it.

* * *

 

The night had carried on until Makoto had to leave to make it back to her apartment before curfew.  She didn’t really want to leave, but the knowledge that she’d patched things up with Asanuma-kun was enough to let her know that there would be more times like those to come.  She walked home as thoughts weighed down on her like boulders.

_Would you go back to him if he said he wanted you?_

_You never look back, do you?_

The brunette couldn’t help but feel like she gave incomplete answers, but she also knew she didn’t want to give those complete thoughts.

If she did, the answer would be all too clear.

She released a sigh as she climbed the stairs to get to her apartment walking down the hall and getting to her door she noticed something.

_Sasanqua Camelia._

She removed the single flower that was taped to her door as she looked at the note written beneath it.

_Mako-chan-sempai,_

_I heard that during the Tellun incident you had lost all of your plants and I wanted to help somehow.  I found this and figured that it could be the beginning of restarting your collection.  Anyways, I was wondering if you would want to maybe go to the floral shop this Saturday.  We could look for more plants for your place and maybe get drinks later.  I mean, if that’s okay.  Anyways, I really hope you like the flower, I know you said it was your favorite._

_Sincerely,_

_Kaito-kun_

A soft smile overtook the brunette as she sniffed the flower that was left for her.

It was so delightful.

She opened her door as she tried to remember what her plans were for that Saturday and if they could be moved around when she felt a crumpling under her foot.  She looked down to notice that there was another note that appeared to have been slipped beneath her door.  She bent over to pick it up and unfolded it slowly.

_Makoto-chan,_

_I need to talk to you.  Please meet me at Floral Emporium at 2:00 this Saturday._

_Nichogi_

The brunette’s heart hammered in her chest as she held the note tighter, placing the flower onto the dresser next to her door.

She didn’t need to look for love anymore.

Love had returned to her.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone's ready for another installment of War's Greatest Fortune! I just wanted to give a heads up that even though I've finished Where the Sky Meets the Sea, I will continue to update this every 3 weeks. I thought I might try to update this every 2, but I'm working two jobs and still have gotten nothing unpacked since July, so I need to set some time aside for that. Also, it'll give me more time to write some one-shots and I've been wanting to write original stories, so I'll continue to work on this, but also figure out how to balance writing with real world responsibilities. Anyways, thanks everyone for the continued support! Please read, comment and kudos to your hearts content =)

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

The sounds echoed throughout the empty hallway as an elegant shrine maiden stood before the forever shut door.

Well, it wouldn’t be shut if she used the key Makoto had given her, but she didn’t want to simply burst in unannounced.  Although, the fact that she hadn’t seen or heard from the brunette since they went to Setsuna’s empty apartment had her slightly concerned.

And, no, this didn’t have anything to do with the ramblings of the twin blondes’ suggesting that Makoto was in love.

It all happened due to a study session that the bluenette had hosted where all but Makoto showed up.  The gossipy bun-head bounded in with even more glee than usual as she announced to the entire group that Makoto was in love.  The nosy love senshi jumped up to meet the princess to discuss the details, how Usagi found out, who it was, and everything else that the fortune teller _did, not, care about!_

Honestly, what did it matter to _her_ if Makoto was in love?  She knew the love-obsessed cook was bound to find someone eventually, especially since the brunette was so caring, and courageous, and altruistic, and _she didn’t care!_

THUMP

The ravenette paused, a blush spreading across her cheeks as she realized that she had been pounding on the door in time to her thoughts.  Clearly, the brunette was too busy with… well, with something else.  Which was fine.  It was _definitely_ fine!  She would just return during a time when the brunette was less… preoccupied.  The shrine maiden turned, walking down the hallway to return to the never ending chores she always seemed to-

CRASH

The fire senshi rushed back instinctively.  Twiddling with the keys in her hand as she hurried to open the door, the graceful shrine maiden burst through the room, scanning the area before hearing grunts and curses coming from the thunder senshi’s bedroom.  The fortune teller rushed towards the sounds and threw the door open and shouted for the brunette.

“Mako-chan!”

There was a scream on the other side of the door as the ravenette rushed to slam the door back closed, leaning against the door as she hid her bright red face in her hands.

She should’ve known that the brunette wasn’t _actually_ in danger, but had simply tripped while getting dressed.  What was she thinking!?  Bursting in like tha-

“Rei-ch-!“

The ravenette fell into the bare arms of the brunette, feeling incredibly flushed at being held so close by the half-naked brunette who quickly shook off the shock to drag the shrine maiden into her room.

“What perfect timing Rei-chan!  I was just thinking I’d need a second opinion.  I’m not keeping you from anything, right?”

“I… um…”

“Awesome!  You sit tight here while I get what I need!”

“Uh… Of…”

The ravenette couldn’t form full words, the mix of shock, confusion and the overall ridiculousness she felt scrambled her senses.  That and the fact that this was such a nonsensical situation.  For instance, why was the brunette cheerily inviting the shrine maiden into her room after she so rudely barged into it while the thunder senshi was dressing?  Why wasn’t Makoto mad at her for rushing in?  What was going on?!

“So, Rei-chan!”

“I… Aye?”

The brunette ignored the stuttering mess of the ravenette as she pulled out an elegant purple dress that had a rose embroidered in the front from her wardrobe.  “I was trying to come up with something to wear for tomorrow, and I thought this would work really well, but I don’t want to look overdressed for the occasion so, I thought I might go with something like this!”

The brunette paused as she pulled out a light pink dress with long sleeves and a short skirt.  “I mean, it’s a bit more causual, but I still want to look my best and I don’t know if I can pull this off as well.  What do you think I should wear Rei-chan?”

“I… um…”  The raventte pushed through her speechlessness as a single question alarmed in her mind.  “Wha- Why are you concerned?  I mean, about your wardrobe for… tomorrow.  I mean, you never requested assistance in… in deciding on an outfit for the previous birthday we celebrated for you.”

Emerald eyes glimmered in confusion as the brunette lowered the two dresses in her hands.  “Rei-chan, I… didn’t I tell you?”

“Tell me… what?”

The brunette stared on, as if in utter disbelief that the ravenette hadn’t been informed before letting her voice fall.

“Rei-chan, I… I’m not going to make it to the arcade tomorrow.  Sem… Nichôgi-sempai asked to see me tomorrow so…”

A pause settled between them as the ravenette felt her heart sink at the familiar name that had caused the brunette such heartbreak before the frustrated brunette began to admonish herself.

“Dammit!  I didn’t tell you did I!  I’m so sorry Rei-chan!   I don’t mean to bail on the bash, it’s just, I mean, he said he needed to see me and- and what if he…”

The shrine maiden watched as the brunette slowly dropped to the floor as uncertainty weighed heavily on her.  The brunette simply sat on the floor as she began to hug her knees as tears looked like they could fall down her face.

“I'm terrible aren't I?  Abandoning my friends for sempai.  But I just, I can't _not_ go!  I mean, I still...”

Soft tears began to swim down her cheeks as she felt her voice tremble slightly.  "I'm so selfish, aren't I?  I don't get why you guys bother keeping me around as a friend."

The shrine maiden watched as the brunette sat looking so helpless and so… _vulnerable._   Rei had never imagined that the powerful brunette could ever look vulnerable before, but watching her fail to fight the tears as she sat half-naked on the floor, the ravenette couldn’t help but use that word for the thunder senshi.  It just didn’t seem right that the person that they all knew they could rely on for strength and protection could look so desperate, but it caused the fortune teller to realize something she’d never thought of before.

Makoto was devoted to protecting them all from every and all threats that may come for them, whether they be an enemy, or a heartbreak.

So, who protected the Guardian of Protection?

The shrine maiden rose to walk over to the brunette, kneeling next to the brunette as she rested a hand on the bare shoulder.  Pleading emerald eyes slowly rose from their hiding place as they met the concerned amethyst gaze that bore into her soul.

“Mako-chan, there is nothing you could ever do to make any of us think less of you, please don’t ever think that about yourself.”

The ravenette paused, trying to think through the right words to say as she felt her heart drop at the very thought.  “And… and if you’d rather spend your birthday with Nichôgi-san, than you should.  We’ll definitely miss you here tomorrow, but…”

The shrine maiden inhaled deeply as she let the soft exhale escape her.  “But we all care too much about you to demand you stay here if being with your sempai will make you happy.”

A shaky smile stretched across ravenette as she offered the brawler all the support in the world.  “And you deserve to have the happiest birthday possible.”

A pause settled between them as the fortune teller began to worry that she hadn’t quite said the right words.

Until the brunette threw her arms around her.

Strong arms encircled the baffled shrine maiden pulling her as closely as possible.  “Thank you, Rei-chan.  You really are the best.”

Soft hands moved gingerly to rest on the bare skin of the brunette as the fortune teller leaned deeper into the embrace, relishing the moment for as long as it could last.  “I just want you happy Mako-chan.”

A soft giggle escaped the brunette as she began to push out of the embrace.  “Well, then I better figure out what I’m wearing tomorrow so that it can be the best birthday ever!”  The brunette announced as she bounced back to her feet before quickly glancing herself over and blushing slightly at the sudden realization that dawned on her.  “Of course, I should probably figure out what I’m wearing for the rest of today, huh?”

Amethyst orbs rolled at the statement as the brunette turned to look for some casual attire.  “I _was_  about to ask on that.  Although, if it makes you feel any better, it’s not like I’ve seen anything I wouldn’t in the girls’ locker room.”

The brunette hummed in thought as she pulled out a pink top from her closet and looked at it half-heartedly.  “That’s a fair point, I guess.  But should I be worried about you paying _too_ much attention to the girls in the locker room?”

The ravenette crossed her arms as she glared at the young woman who was too busy throwing her t-shirt on to pay much attention to the firebrand’s change in demeanor.  “Do you want my help or not?”

The brunette released a light-hearted laugh as she pulled out some biker shorts and began throwing them on.  “I’m sorry Rei-chan, I mean no offense I promise!”  The brawler assured as she turned around to showcase her latest outfit before allowing a soft chuckle.  “You know, I don’t know if I’m much more dressed than I was before.”

Amethyst eyes glanced over the brunette, the pink shirt was slightly baggier as the collar was extended to fall off one shoulder and the word _LOVE_  was printed across it in plain black as the shirt extended to just above the waistline to show off the long silky legs that extended from the biker shorts the brunette wore.   After a moment of ‘analyzing’ the fortune teller managed a shrug.

“It works,” she stated, betraying her true feelings as she moved forward to find something that would distract herself from the blush she felt coming on.  “Of course, today’s outfit wasn’t your main concern, was it?”

The brunette offered a soft laugh as she shook her head.  “Yeah, we’ve got bigger fish to fry coming up tomorrow.”

The amethyst gaze filed through the mass amount of clothes that the brunette had accumulated in her closet, secretly wondering how the brunette would wear each item since the times she saw her friend in anything but her school uniform were few and far between.  She reached forward to grab a dress from the back of the closet.  “Say, Mako-chan-?”

“Ohmigosh!  I love this song!”

The ravenette turned to watch as the brunette moved to a radio on the nightstand, turning up the volume to the blaring brass that echoed throughout the room as the brawler bounced in time to the beat.  She leapt towards the ravenette as she rushed to pull a long dress out of her closet and began swinging it around as she sang to the radio.

“The sky was blue, and high above

The moon was new, and so was love~!”

The brunette twirled the dress and tossed it into the air as she continued to dance to the lyrics she sang.

“This eager heart of mine was singing!

Lover!  Where can you be~?”

The ravenette rolled her eyes as she pulled a dress shirt out of the brunette’s closet, filing the clothes while she sang the next verse.

“He came at last-”

“No way!”

A soft smirk stretched across the shrine maiden’s face as she continued to sing, undeterred by the interruption

“Love had its day,

That day is past now that you’ve gone away,

This aching heart of mine is singing,

Lover come to me~”

The brunette laughed, jumping off her bed as she moved to meet the ravenette.  “I can’t believe you know this song!”

The ravenette shrugged her shoulders in response as the brunette grabbed a hairbrush to belt out the next line in a dramatic fashion.

“THE SKY IS BLUE!”

“The night is cold,” the ravenette responded, getting a shawl out of the closet to wrap around herself and shiver.

“The moon is new!” the brunette announced before the shrine maiden threw the shawl on the ground and huffed.

“Ugh, but love is _so_ old!”

The brunette loosed a soft laugh before returning to the hairbrush to take it home.

“And while I’m waiting here this heart of mine it singing,

Lover, come to me~!!!”

The brunette tossed the hairbrush aside as the brass section returned, grabbing one of the shrine maiden’s hands as she spun her around before spinning the ravenette back towards her to continue the swing.  Letting the instrumental music dictate their movements as the lyrics returned to the song.

_The sky is blue_

_The night is cold_

_The moon is new_

_But love is old_

_And while I’m standing here_

_This heart of mine is singing_

_Lover_

_Oh lover, lover lover_

_Get yourself back here to me_

_Now!_

The brunette gave a final spin, spinning herself onto her bed as the ravenette caught her balance, pausing to make sure the brawler was okay before giggling at the antic.  The brawler gave a hearty laugh before bounding back to sit upright.

“Oh my gosh, that was awesome!  I still can’t believe you know that song, how do you know Barbra Streisand anyways?!”

The ravenette paused slightly as she turned back towards the closet to busy herself.  “My father wanted me to learn more about American music so that I could appear more cultured.  He wasn’t pleased when I took more of a liking to the Broadway style over classical.  I like them both it’s just, I love the storytelling behind musical theater.”

Amethyst eyes turned back towards the brunette as she pulled a hanger out of the wardrobe.  “What about you?  I didn’t think you paid much attention to American music.”

A soft pause settled over them as mist glazed over emerald eyes, turning towards the radio as if expecting it to have the answer for her.  “Actually, this CD belonged to my mother.”

Amethyst eyes widened slightly before turning back to the dress that she had pulled out to return it to the closet.  “I… I apologize-”

“Don’t apologize Rei-chan,” the brunette said as her emerald gaze searched for some sign of relief from the ravenette.  “I wouldn’t have mentioned it if I didn’t want to talk about it.”

The shrine maiden sighed as she tried to distract herself with another random article she could find within the closet.  “I never would’ve guessed that your mother was into Broadway music.

“Well, shows what you know,” the brunette answered in bittersweet tone.  “My mother was actually American.  According to my foster parents, my father studied abroad in America and met my mother there, so I actually have a lot of the Broadway soundtracks.  Apparently, my mother was a huge fan of them.”

“I see…”

A silence fell between them as the ravenette found the dress that had been thrown in the back of the closet, letting her hands run across the seams of the green dress that was matched with a light green sweatshirt underneath.  The brunette tilted her head towards the shrine maiden, rising from the bed to find what had the ravenette so entranced before laughing slightly.  “I haven’t seen this dress in a while.  It was my absolute favorite, but I haven’t found the right opportunity to wear it again.”

“Then why not wear it tomorrow?”  The shrine maiden asked, offering the warmest smile she could offer.  “I’m sure you would look fantastic in it for your birthday.”

“I…”

The brawler paused, holding the dress in her hands as she let her eyes wander over the article of clothing.  “I haven’t worn this since I lived with my foster parents…”

The ravenette mouthed some words, before turning back to the closet.  “I apologize, I can find something-”

“It’s okay,” the brunette assured as she gave the shrine maiden a confident smile.  “I moved here with the hopes that I’d never have to look back,” the brawler paused, looking over her dress, “But, I miss my foster parents.  And I miss Nichôgi…”

A bittersweet chuckle escaped the brunette as she held the dress up.  “You know, the last time I wore this dress is when I moved out…”

“Do you not talk to your foster parents anymore?”

Concerned amethyst bore into the brunette’s soul as she sighed to avert the palpable gaze.

“I didn’t have the heart to tell them why I was leaving.”

“Mako-chan-”

“I know it’s not fair to them,” the brunette admitted as she shook her head.  “I mean, I wouldn’t be able to afford this place if it weren’t for their help.  I mean, I tried to convince them I’d be fine on my own, but they were worried I wouldn’t be able to afford a place as a minor.  We compromised with me raising some of the plants and selling them back to them.  It at least makes me feel a little self-sufficient…”

The brunette sighed as she clutched the dress tighter.  “Which is just a nice way of saying I did everything I could to cut them off as much as possible…”

Another sigh escaped the brawler as tears threatened to tear down the brunette’s cheeks.

“I’m all alone.”

“You’re not alone Mako-chan.”

Emerald eyes gazed towards the ravenette who was there with a soft smile.

“You have us, and your visiting your sempai tomorrow, and if nothing else, I’m sure your foster parents would love to hear how you’re doing.”

“Rei-chan?”

“We are all here for you Mako-chan, no matter what.  So spend your birthday in the way you’ll enjoy it the most, we’ll all be here to welcome you back for when you return.”

Tears slowly trailed down the brunette’s cheeks as she engulfed the ravenette in the biggest hug she could muster.  “Thank you Rei-chan,” the brawler mumbled as she held the shrine maiden close.  “You really are the best.”

The ravenette stiffened slightly, before slowly easing her arms around the brawler, relishing the embrace.

“Anything to make you happy.”

* * *

 

“Man!  This is _soooooooo_ depressing!”

The loud whine was followed by an equally dramatic _thump_ as the red ribbonned blonde slammed her head against the disorganized table.  After her visit to the brunette’s apartment the shrine maiden went straight to the arcade, where the other senshi had hidden away their surprise party plans in the storeroom, which would now go to waste with the newfound information that the ravenette had imparted on them.

The blonde gave a dreamy sigh.  “I can’t really blame her though.  If some super cute guy asked me out on my birthday, I’d totally do it too!”

“Yeah!  Birthdays with the one you love are absolutely the best!”  The odangoed blonde enthusiastically informed.  “I’m so happy for her!  She’s finally found her love!”

“Yeah,” the love senshi sighed slighlty grudgingly as she rested her head on her palm.  “But I was so sure _I’d_ find her true love for her.  I mean, what am I supposed to do with all my research on who her ideal boyfriend would be?!”

“I know it’s hard to feel like all your hard work is going to waste, but I’m certain that, with your notes and the power of love, you’ll be able to help someone else find their soulmate!”

“You really think so Usagi-chan?!”

The shrine maiden had to roll her eyes at the whole endeavor.  “Why do I bother associating with such love obsessed lunatics.”

“Was the use of the word ‘lunatics’ meant to have a double meaning there?”

Soft blue eyes gazed from the mirthful bookworm who was actually getting work done in picking up their now useless party supplies, unlike _some_ of them.

…

Well, okay, unlike the shrine maiden too.

But she wasn’t going to point that one out to herself while she was in this sour a mood.

“It wasn’t intentional, though I suppose the double meaning would be appropriate for this instance.”

The bluenette offered a soft shake of her head as she took a seat next to the shrine maiden.  “I know you don’t actually mean to be so harsh to the others.  What’s going on?”

The ravenette sighed as she tried to relax her position.  “You know _exactly_ what’s going on Ami-chan.”  The shrine maiden harshly reminded as amethyst glared at the space between the two blondes, as if hoping to scare away the gossip they were sharing.  “I don’t like this.”

The bookworm nodded slightly, before turning back to the two blondes who continued to rant about how romantic it is for Makoto’s crush to ask for her back on her birthday.  “You’re worried about her, aren’t you?”

“Of course not!”  the ravenette responded defensively.  “Why should I be concerned about her?  She is more than capable of handling her own affairs.”

“I don’t doubt that, Mako-chan does possess great strength and is able to rise to any challenge, however, this particular encounter isn’t necessarily against an enemy, and is a situation where her strength will grant her no aid.”

A pause settled between them before a soft scoff escaped the fortune teller.  “So, you don’t like this situation than either.”

“Of course not,” the bluenette admitted without hesitation.  “Whoever this guy is, he really hurt Mako-chan.”

“If he hurts her again, there is no amount of praying he could do to save himself.  I _will_ make him regret it.”

“How would you do that?”  The bookworm asked unsure if the question would be rhetorical or legitimate.  “You wouldn’t actually attack the young man now, would you?”

A soft sigh escaped the shrine maiden as she lowered her head between her arms.  "Of course not," the firebrand admitted, imagining the look in those emerald green eyes if she did seek revenge for the brunette’s sake.  “That would cause Mako-chan more distress than it would actually help her.”

A soft smile stretched across the bluenette’s face as she turned back towards their scattered party decorations.  “Honestly, I’m surprised you didn’t try to persuade her not to go.”

Amethysts orbs gazed forward, remembering the heartbroken brunette half-naked on the floor as she fought the turmoil at choosing between her sempai or her friends.  “I couldn’t tell her no,” the ravenette informed, feeling the pain from the brunette that was just as present in the atmosphere now as it was then.  “It would’ve surely broken her heart all over again.”

The bluenette rose, offering a small smile as she rested a hand on the shrine maiden’s shoulder.  “You’re a good friend Rei-chan.”  She began to gather up the supplies she had begun to pack away to return to her work, but not before turning back to the fortune teller.  “Whatever happens, I’m certain you’ll come up with a way to help our favorite thunder senshi.”

The wisdom warrior left, leaving the firebrand to her thoughts as she stared blankly ahead, listening absentmindedly to the blonde’s complaints about learning the words to an English song that she was hoping to sing at the brunette’s birthday party.  Amethyst orbs turned towards the small batch of gifts on the table they were sitting at, recognizing the blonde’s karaoke machine, and all the streamers that lay next to it.  The shrine maiden rose to voice her thoughts.

“Everyone, I have an idea.”

She promised the brunette that no matter what happened, they’d all be there for her.

She was going to fulfill that promise. 

* * *

 

Well, that wasn’t how she was expecting her day to go.

Of course, she wasn’t sure why she expected differently it’s just…

It’s just that she didn’t expect things to be different.  She had just hoped they would be.

She gave a sigh.  It was stupid of her to have picked him over her friends.

She just hoped her friends wouldn't hold this against her.

“SURPRISE!!!”

Emerald eyes widened as the door to her apartment flung open while she stood frozen in her spot.  “Guys, wha-”

The blonde bounced towards the thunder senshi as she began to drag her into the apartment.  “Did you really think we could celebrate your birthday without _you_ being here?!  Well ah contraire my chair!”

Amethyst orbs rolled at the statement as the brunette was dragged into the center of her circle of friends.  “Happy Birthday Mako-chan, I hope your day’s been going well.”

“Oh, uh… yeah…” the brunette mumbled as she scratched the back of her head.  “Did you guys do all this for me?”

“It was all Rei-chan’s idea.”

“Usagi-chan!”

“Rei-chan?”

The shrine maiden turned towards the brunette, frozen by the emerald gaze.

“Really… you…”

The ravenette tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she tried to fight down the blush, hoping someone else would cut in with something that would draw the attention to… well, anyone but her honestly.

“Say, Mina-chan?  Is this everything you needed for the karaoke machine?”

“Oh my gosh!  Thank you Ami-chan!”

“Karaoke machine?”

“ _That_ was not my idea.”

“Oh, Mako-chan!  You need to listen to this!  Mina-chan got you an awesome CD from America!”

“Gyah- wait!”  The brunette turned towards the ravenette who simply watched as the odangoed blonde dragged her towards the aspiring pop idol.  “You better be ready Mako-chan!  I got you something special!  A CD that came all the way from America!  _Wicked_!!!”

“Wait, Mina-chan, I already have the _Wicked_ soundtrack.”

“I know!  I pulled it out of your collection!”

“What?!”

“This is why you don’t give everyone you meet a copy of your house key.”

The brunette gave a soft glare to the mirthful smirk of the ravenette before the blonde demanded their attention again.  “So now!  To celebrate the awesome birthday of Mako-chan, I will perform a song from the new hit soundtrack she has just been re-given!!!”

A chord was struck as the blonde held up the microphone to belt her heart out.

“The troubles with school is they always try to teach the wrong lesson,

Believe me, I’ve been kicked out of enough of them to know~”

“Oh, don’t worry.  None of us have any doubt of _that_.”

“What’s that supposed to mean Rei-ch-!  Kya!  Oh no, I’m missing the song!  Now I have to start all over!”

The brunette laughed as the odangoed blonde rushed over to give the flustered pop star her support as the bluenette rolled her eyes at the situation, letting a soft smile cross her face before the odangoed blonde dragged her towards machine to sing with the other blonde.  The duet worked well for a little bit until the blunette began to correct the English pronunciation of the blonde’s singing and began testing them on the meanings behind the words, causing the blondes to fall to the floor in tears as they cried about why the bookworm had to constantly bring up schoolwork when they were trying to have fun.

The brunette gave a slight chuckle before noticing a cough coming off to her side.

“I hope I’m not interrupting, but I thought it would be an appropriate time to give this to you.”  The ravenette extended a small box towards the brunette.  “And before you ask, no, I did not steal this from your room and wrap it up just to have something to give you.”

“Yeah, that’s what you hired Mina-chan for.”

The amethyst gaze rolled as a soft giggle escaped the shrine maiden.  “I was hoping you wouldn’t figure that out.”

A soft giggle left the brunette as she gently tore away the wrapping and lifted the lid off the box, gasping softly as she slowly pulled out her newest gift.  “Rei-chan?”

“I did owe you a new lamp.”

The brunette laughed as she pulled out the object that was shaped like a tulip, with a metal green stand that had decorative leaves growing from the stem, leading to a beautiful pink tulip bud that lit up her world.  “I thought you owed me a music box.”

The ravenette shook her head as she loosed a soft giggle.  “I guess you know what you’re getting for your birthday next year.”

A hearty chuckle escaped the brunette in response.  “What, you mean you’re going to make me wait a whole year before you fully make up for smashing my rain tree… thing.”

“In my defense, I have a long line of people waiting on me to replace their destroyed artifacts.”

The brunette shook her head as she looked back towards the gift she’d just received.  “This is really incredible Rei-chan.  I love it so much.”

A soft nod was the only reaction the ravenette gave as the brunette set the lamp to the side before noticing that the music was still playing in the background, shaking her head at the thought she’d inevitably voice.

“Say, Rei-chan…?”

“Hm…”

A soft smile spread across the brunette’s face as she gave a slight bow.  “Would you honor me with a dance?”

A few blinks escaped the ravenette as she stared on in disbelief at the brunette.  “Pardon?”

The brunette smirked slightly.  “I simply felt like a dance.  Of course, if you'd rather not, I can pull out one of my dresses to dance with instead.”

A soft chuckle escaped the ravenette as she took the brawler’s hand.  “Well, I can’t have you replacing me with one of your wardrobe items, now can I?”

The brunette laughed as she pulled the shrine maiden close to begin to swing to the music, causing the fortune teller to be a bit more conscious of how close she was to the brawler, trying to come up with some conversation to distract her from her thoughts.

"So, did you have a good birthday?’

The emerald gaze panned the room, noticing the other three huddled by the karaoke machine as they discussed music and exams.  “Yeah,” she said softly before turning back towards the amethyst gaze as they swung slowly to the music.  “It couldn’t have been more perfect.”

The ravenette paused, unsure as to the best way to respond to that as she felt her heart drop a little.  “I’m glad you had a great day.”

“Yeah,” the brunette mumbled as she paused in her movement.  “It’s all because of you.”

The ravenette gave a questioning tilt of her head as the brunette moved to hug her friend.

“Thank you Rei-chan, you really are the best.”

The ravenette paused, slowly moving her hands up before leaning into the embrace, relishing the moment lest it become reserved for someone else.  She let her thoughts be voiced, before they echoed tauntingly in her mind.

“Anything for you Mako-chan.”

 _Anything for you_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, in case it wasn't clear, the songs in this fic were Lover, Come Back to Me by Barbra Streisand and Dancing Through Life from the Wicked soundtrack. I was originally thinking of also throwing in Cry Me a River by Barbra Streisand in here, but I felt like that might be overkill. I just felt like Lover, Come Back to Me could fit both Makoto and Rei so well, and Dancing Through Life was just too perfect for Minako to not use. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the read! Look forward to the next update in 3 weeks!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, this might be the longest chapter I've written... ever! It feels super nice having a chapter this long again, must be because I tend to talk to much. Regardless, remember to read, comment and kudos! On a side note, this chapter and the next one are going to be directly related to the Sailor Moon Short Stories, so if you haven't read those already you should get on that because they're pretty great. Anyways, enjoy the read!

The ravenette took a deep sigh.

How did it come to this again?

“Sem-pie!  Can I git a roshe shaped ring for makin'it to highsssschool?!”

The shrine maiden groaned as she half carried, half dragged the towering brunette towards the apartment they were _planning_ on studying in before the thunder senshi went and got inebriated.

“Sem-pie!  Where are we going in such a hurry?!”

“Please, stop calling me that.”

The fortune teller practically growled as she continued to tow the brunette away.  She probably should’ve enrolled the help of some of the others, but Ami-chan looked like she would develop an apoplexy if they didn’t get _some_ amount of studying done.  Honestly, the ravenette was half-concerned the bluenette would have dragged the brawler to the library and quizzed the brunette in her intoxicated state where she would probably be arrested for public belligerence and underage drinking if she hadn’t convinced the bookworm that Makoto needed less help than the blondes and that the fortune teller could help get their friend caught up once she recovered.  And so the bookworm marched off with two crying blondes in tow as the ravenette tried desperately to drag the drunk nuisance back to her apartment before the situation could get any worse.

“Semmmmmmpaaaiiiiii!”

“Mako-chan, please!”

The ravenette snapped as the heavy head of the drunk brunette leaned further into her shoulder, amethyst orbs rolling at the helplessness of the situation.

At least she made it to the Makoto’s door okay.

Using the spare key the brawler gave her, the ravenette opened the door and immediately guided the brunette to her bedroom.  She left the brawler who obnoxiously whined at her absence while she grabbed a bin from the restroom.  She returned briskly, carelessly placing the bin next to the bed as she hurried to leave before the brunette tugged at her wrist.

“Where're you goin'?”

The ravenette struggled to take her hand back, but the powerful grip of the brawler refused to relent as she decided to try to reason with the brunette in her hazy state.  “I just need to go to the kitchen to get you-”

“You can’t leave without a kiss~”

“MAKO-”

The ravenette tried to shout, but it was too late.  Soft, tender lips were pressed against her own as the taste of hard liquor laid heavy on her tongue.  She knew that this was wrong.  She knew that she had to stop this.

She knew she didn’t have the will to.

Instead, she allowed the brunette to deepen the kiss, feeling the back of her head tingle with the feeling of slender fingers interlocking with her hair.  A hand instinctively cupped the brawler’s jawline as she felt herself succumbing to the moment.  Succumbing to the wondrous smell of rose petals that drifted over the alcoholic haze.  Succumbing to those secret feelings she had tried to deny since the moment she first laid eyes on the brunette.

Succumbing to a passion that she had sworn she’d buried a lifetime ago.

Slowly, the brunette began to break the kiss as the ravenette hesitantly followed the gesture, opening her eyes to reveal an amethyst gaze as hazy as the brawler’s state of mind.

“Mako-chan…”

“I love you, Sempai~”

SMACK

The reddened cheek stared at the raventte who’s hand had not retreated from the assault, amethyst eyes pricked with tears in the corners of them before widening at the realization of what she’d done.  A slow hand reached for the tender cheek as pained emerald eyes turned towards the ravenette.

“Sempai?”

“Mako-chan, please, I apologize, I simply-”

“Sem… pai…”

The word came in broken gulps between the soft gags of the brunette as the ravenette recognized all too clearly the signs of what was to come next.  Quickly she grabbed the small trash bin she’d left to the side and brought it in front of the brawler who began to vomit profusely into the bin.

“Semp…”

The fortune teller rushed upwards to join the brunette on the bed, helping to steady the bin cradled in the brawler’s lap as she rubbed soft circles into the thunder senshi’s back.  “Mako-chan, sempai’s not here.  It’s me, Rei-chan.”

“Rei… chan…?”

The words were softly mumbled before the brunette vomited again, motivating the ravenette to increase the strokes on her rubs to help ease the pain.

“Rei-chan!  What’s sappening to me?!  Am I goin' to die?!”

“No Mako-chan, you’re just drunk.”  The miko deadpanned in as soothing a voice as she could offer.  “You’re going to be fine Mako-chan.  You just had too much to drink.”

“What… aryou… talking… about?!”  The brunette slurred as her head wobbled unsteadily.  “I doen drink!”

The ravenette sighed as she used her handkerchief to wipe the extra vomit from her friend’s mouth.  “I’ll explain it to you later, right now you need-”

“Where’ds Sempai go?!”  The brunette shouted as she desperately looked around.  “Why’s he not-?!”

The brunette stopped mid-sentence as she returned to vomit in the bucket as the shrine maiden cast her gaze downward.  “He’s not here.”

_But I’m here_

She wanted so desperately to voice those words.  To let the brunette know that she would remain there unfailingly for as long as the brawler would need her to be.  That at least the thunder senshi could be a little less alone.  She clenched her eyes shut while continuing to rub patterns in the brawler’s back as the vomiting began to slowly subside.

_You’ll always find me here._

* * *

 

The brunette stifled a yawn as she stretched her arms above her head.  Life was definitely tiring these days, but she wouldn’t trade any of it away for the world.

After all, she finally had the family she had always dreamed of.

She crept through the bedroom as she carefully closed the door behind her, calculating just the right force and distance she had to close the door before she could let go of the handle without a sound.  She slowly lifted the handle back up as she allowed her hand to part ways with it, cautiously tip-toeing backwards while eyeing the door warily, as if scared that a single wrong move would cause the door to crash down to the floor and ruin the whole serenity of the household.  She padded quietly down the hallway before she finally gave a sigh and turned around to head towards the kitchen.

“Hello, there Mako-chan!  I take it the baby’s been taken to bed?”

A soft giggle escaped the brunette as she beamed a brilliant smile towards her love.  “Of course, Sempai!  She always looks so adorable when she’s sleeping.”

“Is that why dinner is late tonight?”

The chef blanched as she panicked over her neglect of duties.  “Oh my gosh, Sempai!  I’m so sorry, I’ll get started on that right away.”

“Too late.”  The dark-haired man cheekily responded as he turned with two plates full of food, handing one of them to the lovely brunette who cooed over the gesture.

“Sempai!  You know you didn’t have to!”

“But I so sincerely wanted to.”  The young man cheerily remarked, giving a light laugh as he placed his own plate of food on the table.  “Come now Mako-chan, with all the work you do around the house and with the baby, pitching in once in a while is the least I can do.”

The brunette took a deep inhale as she took her seat across from her lover.  “Thank you so much Sempai~ it smells incredible!”

“I doubt it’s anything compared to what you would make,” the man sheepishly remarked, scratching the back of his head.  "But I wanted to do something special since it _is_ our anniversary.”

The brunette took her first bite, shock immediately overtaking her features as she turned back to her lover.  "Sempai, this is fantastic!"

"I'm glad you like it," the man stated as he moved to grab something.  "I hope you'll like this just as much."

The brunette cheered as she took the flower pot into her hands to smell the roses that grew within.

“Those are your favorite right?  Pink roses?”

The brawler opened her eyes as they wistfully took in the present her lover had just given to her.  No, pink roses weren’t her favorite.  At least, they weren’t her favorite flower, but they were her favorite rose.  Maybe that's what sempai meant to ask.

After all, he was the reason Sasanqua Camillia were her favorite. 

There was something about the gift that seemed... off, however.  No, it didn't feel off.  Staring down at the present she couldn’t help, but feel like it looked so familiar with the ceramic pot that had a cobblestone design on it as the roses bloomed within the contrast of the vibrant leaves.  It was truly beautiful, but why did it feel familiar?

And why did it feel strange receiving it from Sempai?

“Mako-chan?”

Emerald eyes snapped back to the soft features of her sempai as she saw the concern settle into his dark eyes.

“Oh, I’m so sorry sempai, I just got distracted.  But I truly love the flowers.  Honest!”

The man released a relieved sigh as he moved around the table to put his arm around the brunette.  “I’m glad you like it.  I love you Mako-chan.”

“I love you too, Sempai~”

Their lips met as the brunette eagerly received the gesture, but it didn’t have the same feel it had before.

It didn’t have the same spark.

The brunette broke the kiss as more confusing thoughts and hammering sounds invaded her mind.  She grabbed at her head, the concerned words of her lover being drowned out by the clattering of kitchenware as the world around her began to fade before her eyes fluttered open.

Quickly they closed again.

She didn't remember her apartment being so bright.

But the sizzling noises coming from the kitchen wouldn’t be-

Wait a minute, who was in the kitchen?

She clenched her eyes as she prepared to force them back open as she struggled to get up from the position she found herself in, groaning loudly at the exertion.

“Ah, so you finally decide to awaken.”

The brunette strained her eyes and ears as she steadily propped herself up on the couch she found herself sleeping on.  “Rei… chan?  Wha… my… kitchen?”

The ravenette began searching through the fridge before finding the ingredient of her desires as she threw her next words over her shoulder.  “You should stay in bed Mako-chan.  You still need your rest.”

“What are you… doing… in my… kitchen?”

The groggy words were followed by the shrine maiden’s indifferent tone of voice as she continued to mix whatever she was concocting in the brunette’s kitchen.  “You needn’t worry about that.  Right now, you should just lay back down and try to relax.”

“How can I… relax?... Rei-chan, you can’t… just…”

“Mako-chan,” the raventte stated in a soft yet threatening voice as she watched the brunette struggle to get up.  “You need your rest.  If you don’t lay back down I promise you’ll regret it.”

“Yeah right…”  The brunette challenged through her hazy, half awake mind as she pushed her body to get up fully.  “What could you… possibly-”

CLANG

The brunette groaned as she grasped at her ringing head and collapsed back on the couch while the ravenette used a quick hand to stop the vibrations of the hanging pot she had just hit her wooden spoon upon.  “Now, if you’ve got nothing more to say I suggest you get your rest.”

“As if-”  The brunette began before noticing the wooden spoon raised again to slam against the accursed pot that would triple the ache in the brunette’s head.  Instead she laid back down, pouting to herself with her arms as crossed as possible.

“Sadistic wench.”

“Stubborn oaf.”

“Oh ye-er-”

The brunette tried to retort, but her head just didn’t forgive her for raising her voice to the ravenette, causing a slight smirk to cross the shrine maiden’s face.

She always enjoyed a victory, no matter how small.

“There’s some aspirin on the table across from you.”

The emerald gaze turned, noticing for the first time the two small pills in front of her that were paired with a tall glass of water.  The brunette reached out to slam down the pills before ingesting the water after it, hoping that the faster she got it downed the faster her head would stop banging against itself.

The ravenette approached with a plate of eggs and rice that she placed in front of the brunette.

“Eat.”

Emerald eyes gazed dumbfoundedly at the steaming plate, as if trying to connect the meaning between the word the shrine maiden had stated to the picture in front of her.

“You… You want me to eat this?”

The ravenette sighed as she hugged one of her elbows.  “Mako-chan, I know I’m not the best cook out there but-”

“Nono!  It’s fine Rei-chan.”  The brunette assured before turning back to the plate in front of her.  “It’s just… I can’t remember the last time anyone cooked a meal for me…”

The hand fell from her slender elbow as the shrine maiden watched on in disbelief.  “Surely your foster parents must have cooked for you when you were growing up.”

“Yeah, when I was way younger I guess…” the brunette admitted as she stared on into the nothingness ahead.  “I took to cooking when I was way young.  I can’t even remember when I started, or how it became my primary duty.  ‘A good quality for a young woman to have if she wants to find a proper husband,’ my parents would say.  I didn’t mind though, I mean, I love cooking… but…”

The brunette gingerly took the plate in front of her as she felt the warmth of the meal melting into her hands before turning back to the ravenette.  “Thank you so much Rei-chan.  I truly appreciate it.”

The fortune teller blushed slightly as she quickly bowed.  “O-Of course, Mako-chan.  I-I’ll leave you to your meal in peace then.”

“You mean you’re not going to join me?”

The ravenette froze at the whined accusation, slowly turning back to the brunette as she worked on a functioning excuse.  “I apologize, but I made quite a mess of your kitchen and really should-”

“Rei-chan…” the brunette called, halting the ravenette’s thoughts in their tracks.  “Did you make any food for yourself?”

“I... I’m fine.  I’m not hungry.”  The shrine maiden quickly stated, flustered by the attentive emerald gaze.  “Besides, you need your energy more since your recovering from yesterday’s events.”

“I think I’ll live.  Besides, don’t you know the best meals are the ones that are shared?”  The brunette stated as she patted the seat next to her on the sofa.  “Come on, you’re not seriously going to make me eat alone, are you?”

The fortune teller sighed as she shook her head.  There was just no winning for her against the brunette.  “I’ll get myself a plate.”

The thunder senshi beamed as the shrine maiden walked casually to the kitchen and brought the plate she had obtained to the couch where the brunette dished out an even portion to her food for the shrine maiden.  A graceful hand took a morsel of food with the chopsticks as the ravenette sampled the cooking that she had prepared for her hungover friend.  “It tastes rather bland.”

“It tastes delicious.”  The brunette stated sincerely as she quickly wiped her mouth after her first bite.  “Thank you so much Rei-chan.”

“It really was nothing.”  The ravenette stated as she averted her gaze to hide her blush.  “I mean, I made a mess of your kitchen, and you’re not getting nearly as much food as you should given-”

“Rei-chan,” the brunette stated, snapping the shrine maiden’s attention back to emerald eyes as a strong hand rested on the ravenette’s shoulder.  “This means everything to me.  Even if my kitchen’s a little messy, it’s no problem.  I just really appreciate you looking out for me.”

The shrine maiden released a soft sigh as she offered a small smile.  “Of course Mako-chan.  Anything for you.”

The brunette smiled before returning to her meal as the ravenette took a look around.  There was something about the apartment that was bothering her as she was taking care of Makoto, but she couldn’t quite pin down what it was.

At least, not until the brunette woke up.

“It is rather quiet without the others here.”  The ravenette stated as her gaze continued to wander, hearing the sigh that escaped her friend beside her.

“I try not to think about that.  It helps when I have the radio or television playing though.”

A soft chuckle escaped the ravenette as she finally figured out the answer to a question that had perplexed her for so long.  “That’s the real reason you gave all of us copies of your apartment key, isn’t it?”

“What do you mean?”  The brunette asked a little too quickly.  “I told everyone if there was a situation with an enemy and they needed a safe place they could always come here.”

“And yet, despite all our battles, the only other person to use their copy of your key was Mina-chan who only used it to steal one of your soundtracks to give it back to you for your birthday.”

The brunette groaned at the argument.  “Yeah, and Usagi-chan’s been using her key to raid my fridge while I’m out.”

“Wait, Usagi’s been raiding your fridge?  How do you know it’s her?”

“Because she always leaves a ‘thank you’ note that’s signed with a bunny face.”

A pause settled between the two as the news of their food loving bunny friend sank into the shrine maiden’s mind before the brunette crossed her arms and pouted.  “Honestly, if she's going to raid my fridge she may as well do it while I'm here so that I could make her a proper meal.  And so that I would know what I need to get restocked afterwards.”

A soft hand rested on the brunette’s shoulder as a warm smile crossed the shrine maiden’s face.  “Well, I can always come by to visit more often so long as you don’t find my presence bothersome.”

“Never Rei-chan,” the brunette answered with a full smile.  “I could never get tired of hanging out with you.”

As if the statement cued a response the brunette yawned, stretching her arms over her head.  “Man, what happened yesterday anyways?  I remember there being an enemy, but I don’t remember anything that would explain why it feels like someone played pinball with my head.”

“Well,” the ravenette began, recollecting the events of the prior day.  “I don't know what happened before-hand, but I was with the others when I noticed an evil aura coming from the bargain shop that you enjoyed visiting.  However, when we arrived you were… well… you were passed out drunk.  You seemed to regain your bearings long enough to destroy the enemy, but it was short lived and you immediately passed out again.”

There was a pause that settled between them as the brunette stared blankly at her plate.

“You know, that does actually explain a lot.”

The ravenette loosed a soft chuckle as she shook her head softly.  “Honestly, I thought it was incredibly bizarre that an enemy would bother to intoxicate you first.  It appeared that your tea had alcohol mixed in with it.”

The brunette groaned as she buried her head in her hands.  “I can’t believe I was so stupid.  I should’ve known that tea tasted off.”

“I wouldn’t give it any thought Mako-chan,” the ravenette consoled placing a gentle hand on the brunette’s shoulder.  “The enemy is vanquished and no one was harmed.  All that’s left is for you to recover.  Which means, you should return to bed.”

“Alright,” the brunette sighed as she began to stretch out on the couch before the ravenette stopped her.

“No, you are going to _your_ bed.  And I better not catch you sleeping on the couch again.”

“Huh, what are you talking about?  Didn’t you just have me sleeping here anyway?”

Amethyst eyes narrowed at the brunette before she stomped over to drag her by the wrist.

“Gyah, Rei-chan!  What are you-”

The shrine maiden opened the door and pointed towards the perfectly made bed.

“Sleep.  Now.”

Emerald orbs rolled as the brunette muttered to herself.  “You’re lucky I’m too tired to argue with your pushiness.”

“I’ll ignore that comment for your sake.”

The brunette gave a final groan as she snuggled into her bed.  “I’m gunna get you back for this someday.”

“You’re certainly welcome to try.”  The shrine maiden stated softly as she watched the brawler slowly doze off before turning to the corner of the room to clean up the haphazard articles of her school uniform that she had tried to utilize as a makeshift bed.

She should’ve known that effort would’ve been in vain.

She folded up her blazer and collier to take them back to the living room and place them on her book bag.  She had already called her grandfather and Makoto’s school to excuse their absences, she had made breakfast and had returned the brunette to bed.

All that was left was cleaning up the kitchen.

And she’d have to clean it fast before the brunette realized how much of a mess she’d actually made with it.

Otherwise, the brunette would really let her have it.

* * *

 

The brunette closed the door behind her as she snuck through the hallway, anxious to find her sempai again.

After all, he said he needed to see her.

She rushed towards the living room before hearing the sounds of slamming drawers in the kitchen as she ran towards the disturbance.

“Sempai!”

“Oh, hey Mako-chan!  Do you know where the keys are?”

“The…”  the brunette paused, completely confused by the events she was watching in front of her.  “The keys?”

“Yeah,” the young man answered, not parting his attention from his search.  “I need to get somewhere, but I can’t find them anywhere.”

“I-I don’t… didn’t you need to talk to me about something?”

The young man hummed as he finally looked up to give the brunette a questioning face before it lit up with revelation.  “Oh, yeah! I’ve been meaning to tell you.  I’m moving out.”

Emerald eyes widened as the brunette’s mind went absolutely blank.  “What?”

“Yeah!  I mean, you know how I’ve been seeing Ayame-chan?  She and I are moving in together!  So I won’t need to be bothering you anymore.”

There was a pause so silent that the brunette swore he could hear her heart breaking.  “What?”

“I know it’s short notice, but I wanted you to know.”  The young man stated before his face lit up.  “What am I doing, of course!”

He briskly strode past the brunette towards the fireplace as the chiming sounds of clacking keys reached the brunette’s ears.  “But… sempai-”

“Awesome!  Well, I’d better head out now and finally get out of your hair.  By the way, thanks so much for letting me stay here for so long.  You really are the best Mako-chan.”

The brunette shook off her reverie as she turned to where the voice was disappearing to.

“Wait, Sempai!”

SLAM

Emerald eyes opened.

The brunette slowly sat up.  She was back in her room, resting in her bed as the clock on her nightstand suggested it was late afternoon.

“Dammit,” the brunette cussed as tears pricked at the corners of her eyes that she quickly wiped away before falling back onto her bed.

She desperately needed to get over that guy.

She gave a long stretch as she yawned into her hand.

At least her headache was mostly gone.

Too bad sleep tended to worsen her heartache though.

The brunette groaned as she sat back up before kicking her feet over the side of the bed, deciding she was done with dreams for the day.  She had been having dreams of her sempai ever since she met with him on her birthday.

She didn’t need to deal with that all over again.

She slowly got up as she worked the kinks out of her back before realizing she hadn’t changed out of her school uniform since the day before.  She gave a sigh as she grabbed a pair of black sweats and a long sleeved green v-neck.  She grabbed her hairband out of habit as she began to walk out into the open space of her living room, thinking about the dreams that constantly seemed to plague her.  People have told her that a person doesn't really move on from a crush until they find someone new.

She'd just have to try to find that other someone.

“Rei-chan?”

Amethyst orbs snapped towards the brunette.  “Ah, Mako-chan.  It’s good to see you awake.”

The brunette analyzed the ravenette’s demeanor.  She wore the plain white button up that she wore underneath her school blazer and was still in her uniform skirt.

The exact same thing she was wearing when the brunette awoke that morning.

“Have you been here all day?”

The ravenette averted her gaze as she fiddled with the hands that she hid in her lap.  “I… it didn’t seem right… to simply… leave…”

“I would’ve been okay.”  The brunette assured as she moved to sit next to her friend.  “I mean, I’m feeling way better now.”

“I know, I…”  The ravenette stuttered suddenly feeling embarrassed for being so overprotective.  Instinctively, she moved to gather her things as she rose from her spot.  “I apologize.  I’m being overbearing.  I simply wanted to ensure you recovered well, but-”

“Rei-chan!”

The brunette clutched the ravenette’s wrist as pleading emerald gazed up to the amethyst orbs.  “Rei-chan, you’re not overbearing.  You don’t need to leave, I just… I mean… you’ve gotta be busy with school and your chores and…”

The hand faltered as the brunette pulled her knees closer to her.  “And you didn’t need to set all those aside for me.  I’m not worth it.”

“Of course you are Mako-chan.”  The ravenette spoke softly as she knelt back down to be eye level to the brawler.  “Regardless of whatever else is going on, I will always be more than happy to assist you in any way possible.  I just… am uncertain as to whether my assistance is actually desirable or not.”

“Well, I’m never going to complain, you’re too good a friend for me to turn away.”  The brunette stated with a soft smile that cracked awkwardly as she scratched the back of her head.  “Also, I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful.  I truly appreciate everything you’ve done for me, it’s just…”

The brunette sighed as her arm dropped to her side and her gaze wandered aimlessly ahead.  “I’m just not used to anyone looking out for me.”

A soft chuckle escaped the shrine maiden as she shook her head.  “And I’m not very experienced in looking out for others.”  A soft smile spread across her features as she turned her attention back to the brunette in front of her.  “I hadn't found anyone who was worth the effort.”

A soft smirk scratched at the edge of the brunette’s face before she turned to scratch the back of her head, trying to distract herself from how much nicer the apartment felt with the shrine maiden’s presence.  “Right… well, thanks.  I definitely appreciate it.”

“Of course Mako-chan.”  The shrine maiden responded as she sat back down next to the brunette.  “I take it that means you don’t mind if I mingle for a bit?”

“Mingle away!  What were you doing earlier anyway?  It looked like you were working on something.”

The shrine maiden sighed before grabbing a thick workbook and showcasing it to the brunette.  “Does this look familiar?”

The brunette groaned as she slammed her head against the table before her.  “I can’t believe you were here just working on schoolwork this entire time!”

“Although I may believe that Ami’s been… a bit overboard as far as our study habits go, I still believe that it is important for us to be as prepared as possible for our upcoming exams.”

“But… I just…”  The brunette groaned as she let her head hang backward so that the ceiling could hear her lament.  “I just can’t Rei-chan!  You know I’m not smart enough for this!  I’m no good at any of this!”

“I don’t believe that’s true.”  The shrine maiden answered swiftly as she opened her workbook.  “You certainly have the capacity to do well on the test, but I don’t think you’ve been approaching it in the right way.”

The brunette rolled her eyes as the shrine maiden motioned for her to find her own workbook.  “You know, I don’t remember studying being part of the plan for tonight.”

“I also don’t recall taking care of an intoxicated friend being my plan for last night.  Consider yourself lucky I managed to convince Ami-chan that I could help you single-handedly.  She was seriously planning on continuing our study plans even with you being in your inebriated state.”

“I don’t think I would’ve minded.”  The brunette confessed as she dramatically dropped her workbook on the table.  “Especially considering the fact that I don’t remember anything that happened yesterday.”

Curiosity overwhelmed reason as the ravenette turned her focus to the brunette.  “Do you truly not remember anything from yesterday?”

The brawler sighed as she gathered her thoughts.  “Well, I remember getting a fifty percent on the mock exam and being upset about that so I went to that bargain shop.  Other than that…”  The brunette paused as a soft blush began to rise to her cheeks.  She immediately shook her head as she turned to look at the ravenette before averting her gaze.

“You know what, I’m not sure if I’m up to studying today.  I’m just gunna go back to bed-”

“Wait!”

The ravenette grasped the brunette’s wrist as desperation took over her thoughts.  “You remember something else, don’t you?  You can tell me, I promise I won’t be upset with you no matter what it is!”

The brunette looked into pleading amethyst as she internally battled on whether she should confess the truth or simply tear her arm away and forget it all later.  The hand around her wrist slid down to her hand as it gave a soft squeeze.

“You can talk to me about anything.”

“I…”  the brunette sighed, shaking her head as she ran her free fingers through her bangs before letting her gaze rest on the scene before her.

“I kissed Sempai.”

“Oh…”  The hand fell as the ravenette moved back to sit upright in her place as her gaze fell to the ground.  “I see…”

“You see, you are upset with me!”  The brunette lightly exasperated as she turned away.  “I knew you’d be disappointed in me!”

“Mako-chan, wait!”  The shrine maiden called as she moved to grab the brunette’s shoulder.  “I’m not disappointed in you.  Why would I be?”

The brunette rolled her eyes, as if the gesture would illustrate how obvious the answer should be.  “Because I ditched all of you to go back to sempai.”

“Mako-chan,” the ravenette soothed as her hand fell from the shoulder.  “None of us think any less of you for it.  So long as your happy, that’s all that matters.”

Emerald orbs peeked back to the shrine maiden before turning back away to sigh, not daring to respond to the ravenette’s kindness.

The shrine maiden began to worry, concerned by the reaction.  “You are happy with your sempai, right?”

The brunette’s body drooped as she moved to flop down on the couch as she let out a groan.  “Of course, I’m not happy with sempai, Rei-chan.”  The brunette answered as she shook her head lightly before letting her gaze rest somewhere on the floorboards beneath her.

“I mean, you can’t be happy with someone you’re not actually with, right?.”

Amethyst orbs widened as the ravenette took tentative steps towards the brunette.  “Mako-chan-”

“I’m such an idiot.”  The brunette berated herself as she loosed a humorless chuckle.  “I mean, I abandoned you guys to go see sempai, who simply wanted me to help him figure out how to make it up to his girlfriend since they had just gotten in a fight and…”

The brunette shook her head before leaning it further forward to cradle it in her hands, then rising back up towards the ceiling.  “And I should’ve known better.  I mean, I _knew_ better.  You told me, and I basically told _myself_ , but I still… I… I just…”

The ravenette knelt before the brunette with a soft smile as she extended a warm hand to the broad shoulder.  “I understand Mako-chan.  Kindred spirits, remember?”

A smile twitched at the edge of the brunette’s face before it broke into a bittersweet grin.  “Man Rei-chan, how come heartbreak has to suck so bad?”

Amethyst orbs rolled as the ravenette loosed a soft chuckle.  “I honestly couldn’t say.  However, if I find out whoever decided that heartbreak should be this painful I will be sure to make our complaints heard.”

“Yeah, well make sure you invite me when you go,” the brunette informed as she flexed one of her arms to point towards herself.  “Cuz I got a few choice words that are better spoken by ‘righty’ here.”

The ravenette chuckled to herself as she shook her head.  “I’ll be sure to remember that.  In the meantime, we have work to do.”

“What do you…” the brunette dared to ask before groaning back into her seat.  “Ugh, are you seriously going to have us working on schoolwork _now_ of all times?!”

“Well, considering the fact we only have two and a half months left to prepare for the high school entrance exams, now seems to be the optimal time to ensure your success.”

“Man, you’re even sounding like Ami-chan now, at least, you’re sounding like a level-headed non-study obsessed Ami-chan.”

“Some of us have to be responsible,” the ravenette deadpanned as she opened to the first page of her workbook.  “Regardless, you need to be prepared to move on to the next level of education.”

“But I told you I’m not cut out for this!”  The brunette pouted as she folded her arms in front of her.  “There’s no way I’m gunna make it to high school!  I fail every exam I take!”

“In case you have forgotten, your last exam score was higher than two of our other friends’ combined scores.” the ravenette stated evenly as she wrote down the magical formula that would illustrate to the brunette just how high a chance she had of succeeding.  “Besides, you got a fifity percent on your last exam, which is a ten point improvement from your previous one.  If you continue to improve at this rate, then you will have a ninety for your final exam.”

“If you say so,” the brunette relented as she leaned forward.  “But that’s assuming that I get a ten point increase every exam I take.”

“Regardless, this shows that your learning at least a little with all the study sessions that we’ve been having.  We just need to figure out where your struggling and then you’ll be assured a passing grade into high school.”

“I guess,” the brawler stated softly as she moved to look over to the workbook.

The ravenette moved to the first question in the workbook.  “Let’s start with this question.  ‘When x equals 3 and y equals 5 by how much does the value of three x squared minus two y exceed the value of two x squared minus three y?’”

The brunette blinked rapidly as she struggled to understand the numerical mess that was before her on the ravenette’s page. “Um… 9?”

The ravenette tilted her head towards the brunette as a credulous look overtook her expression.

“Hey, you asked!  I was just giving you an answer!”

“And how, pray tell, did you come up with that answer?”

“I don’t know!  You’re the one who’s supposed to be helping me!”

The shrine maiden sighed as she moved to explain.  “This question is relatively simple since they gave you the values for the numbers here.  See, if you just replace the x’s and y’s as threes and fives then you just need to punch in the numbers and compare.”

“This is stupid,” the brunette complained as she folded her arms to sink further into the couch.  “I mean, what’s the point of using x’s and y’s if they’re just gunna give me the numbers anyway!”

“It’s simply to see if you know how to put numbers into a formula you already have.  I guarantee that you probably do this all the time without realizing it.”

“Psh, when would I ever use any of this?”

“Well,” the ravenette paused as she took a moment to think.  “I mean, I know you love bargain shopping.  Say you go to a store and they have a collection of shirts you really want to buy and you find out that the price of each shirt is 3 squared.”

“Why would anyone sell a shirt at the price of 3 squared?”

Amethyst orbs rolled as she pointed her gaze back towards the problem.  “Not the point.  If it makes you feel better, we can solve that question already.  What is 3 squared?”

“Um… well, that’s three times three right?  So… nine?”

“Absolutely,” the raventte praised before returning to the problem at hand.  “So, let’s pretend you find three shirts you wanted at the cost of nine hundred yen.”

“That’d be twenty-seven hundred yen!”

“Exactly!  Now, we added two zeroes at the end of the nine to make it more realistic, but if we got rid of those-”

“Then we end up with twenty-seven.”

“Precisely!  And that takes care of the first half of that equation, all that’s left is to take away the two ‘y’ from it.”

“Well, if x’s are ‘shirts’ than what would y’s be?”

The raventte gave a pointed glare to the brunette who responded with a cheeky grin.  “You’re really going to make me go through with this, aren’t you?”

“Hey, you’re the teacher!  I’m just here to learn.”

The ravenette sighed as she shook her head.  “We’ll consider the ‘y’s to be ‘coupons.’  So then, if you have two coupons for five hundred yen.”

“That’d be ten thousand, making ten the answer.”  The brunette stated softly, her mind working desperately to complete the equation.  “So then I have twenty-seven minus ten which means the answer to this equation is… seventeen?”

The ravenette failed to suppress the soft smile that graced her as she wrote the answer down in neat handwriting.  “You really should be more confident in yourself Mako-chan, that problem didn’t faze you at all.”

“Wait, you mean I did it?  I really did it?!”

“Yes Mako-chan, you really did.”  The ravenette spoke warmly as she offered her sincerest smile.  “Do you mind showing me how this next equation would work?”

“Of course!”  The brunette announced readily as she took the pen from her friend.  “So, let’s see here, I’ll start with the two ‘x’ squared.  Well, we already established that three squared was nine, so if I were to get two shirts for nine hundred yen then I would spend eighteen hundred, meaning that side gives us eighteen.  Then, if I have three five hundred yen coupons I would be able to save fifteen hundred yen, making the answer to that side fifteen.  Subtracting eighteen from fifteen would give me an answer of… three!”

“Very well done!”  The ravenette answered with a laugh.  “So then, what’s the difference between the two answers?”

“You mean, how much money would I save by not buying shirts at question one?”

Amethyst orbs rolled though the smile wouldn’t detach from the shrine maiden’s face.  “If it helps you to think of it that way.”

“That would be fourteen hundred yen!”  The brunette announced as she penned it down in flowing writing.  “Or fourteen, since those are the numbers we’re dealing with.”

The shrine maiden hummed before turning back to the brunette.  “Congratulations Mako-chan.  You have completed the first question in this workbook.”

“I…” the brunnete paused, closing the book as she checked the cover to make sure it was still the same book that Ami had given them all.  “Wow, that was actually a lot easier than I thought!”

“Of course Mako-chan, with your love of bargain shopping and cooking, I knew you would have a good head for math.”

“Yeah…” the brawler continued to stare on at the book before shifting her gaze towards the ravenette.  “Thanks so much Rei-chan.  You really are the best!”

“Don’t thank me yet, that was simply math.  I couldn’t help but notice that you also seemed to be struggling in English.”

The smile fell from the brunette’s face before she began to wail.  “Rei-chan!  I thought I was doing so well!”

“You are,” the ravenette assured the brunette as she got up.  “But don’t worry, I’m certain you won’t mind what I have planned for you.”

“But it has to do with English!”

“I know,” the shrine maiden stated as she sauntered towards the brunette’s CD player.  “Of course, it also has to do with English that you hear rather often.”

“What do you mean?”

The ravenette sorted through the CD’s before pulling out nearly ten of them.  “We are going to look up the lyrics to one of these songs and then you will translate them into Japanese for me.”

The brunette sulked deeper into her seat before turning back towards the ravenette.  “Can we at least listen to some of the soundtracks while we work?”

“Of-”

“MAKO-CHAN!!!!!”

A twin bunned blonde barreled through the door as she rushed to give the brunette a hug.  “Mako-chan!  We missed you so much in school today!  I’m so sorry we didn’t stop that bad meanie and-”

“Usagi-chan, you don’t need to worry, I’m fine.”

“Hey Mako-chan!”

The emerald gaze turned towards the second blonde that bounced into the room.  “You look like you’re doing well!  Are you ready to party for the weekend?!”

“Mina-chan, we are not here to party!”  The bluenette reminded as she briskly walked into the room.  “We are missing out on valuable study time as we speak!  We should get started immediately!”

“But Ami-chan!”  The blonde whined as she turned towards their scholarly friend before gesturing towards the brunette.  “We had to come here and make sure that Mako-chan got better!”

The brunette scratched the back of her head as she blushed slightly.  “You guys didn’t need to worry about me, I’m fine.”

“As a matter of fact,” the ravenette stated to garner everyone’s attention.  “We were actually getting some studying done here.”

“Yeah,” the brunette affirmed as she gave a sheepish smile to her friends.  “You’re all welcome to join us if you’d like!”

“You mean we have to-”

“That’s an excellent idea!”  The bluenette announced to interrupt the love senshi.  “I’ll get ramen started for all of us so that we may maximize our time studying while still giving our minds the nutrition it needs to work optimally!”

The blonde began to whine as the bluenette hurried to the kitchen while the odangoed princess looked up to the brunette to give a hearty smile.  “Well, I’m glad everything seemed to turn out alright!  It sounds like it was the right choice to trust Rei-chan to look after you!”

Emerald orbs turned towards the woman in question who was now perusing the soundtracks that the brawler had collected.  A soft smile crept along the brunette’s face.

“Yeah," the brunette stated softly as her eyes refused to detach from the one person who always seemed to be there for her.

"It definitely was.”

* * *

 

She couldn’t believe that she could’ve gotten things so wrong.

She had _sworn_ he’d be the right one.  Swore that she couldn’t live without him and that they’d be together forever.

Nothing had ever felt so wrong to her.

The brunette sobbed.  Face buried in her knees as all the plants around her withered from having the life sucked out of them.  She’d never felt more able to relate to her plants before.

All the will within her had been drained.

“Mako-chan?”

Emerald orbs peaked up from their flesh burrow, soft sniffles escaping the brunette.  “Rei-chan?”

“Mako-chan!  What happened?  Are you hurt?”

“Go away Rei-chan,” the brunette mumbled, burying her head back in her lap to illustrate the lack of desire to leave herself.  “Sempai left me, and you should to.”

"What happened to all your plants Mako-chan?"

"I brought the Tellun back," the brunette stated between sniffles.  "You should leave before it steals your life to."

"Why is the Tellun back?"

"Because I wanted it to be!"  The brunette shouted as she looked up to glare at the ravenette.  "Now just go!  This is nothing more than what I deserve."

There was a pause that settled between them as the brunette half believed that the shrine maiden might have simply disappeared with the span the silence took, but the ruffling of clothing gave away the ravenette’s position.  The brunette quickly sat fully upright as she fretfully wiped her tears.

“What’re you doing?!  You can’t stay here, the Tellun will destroy you!”

“Well you don’t seem to be going anywhere.”  The ravenette stated mildly as she remained frozen in place.  “Why should I leave if you stay?”

“Because I have nothing left Rei-chan!”  The brunette screamed before hiding her face back between her knees.  “Just go Rei-chan!  There’s nothing more for me than to die alone!”

“I refuse to accept that.”  The shrine maiden stated boldly as her amethyst eyes glinted with determination.  “I refuse to allow you to believe that you are alone in this world and I swear I will do everything within my power to try to convince you otherwise.  Even if it kills me.”

“Rei-chan!”  The brunette screamed as she dropped her knees to fully face the ravenette.  “What are you crazy?!  You’re going to die!!!”

“But at least, when I die, I will die knowing that you weren’t alone.”

Emerald eyes widened before the brunette moved to furiously wipe away tears.  “Rei-chan…”

The ravenette extended a gift, a cobblestone flower pot that held a small bushel of pink roses that burst forth from the small brush that resided inside.  Amethyst eyes dropped as the ravenette stared at the ground next to her.  “I meant to get you something.  To apologize for making you talk about your broken heart.”

The brunette took the pot as nostalgia welled into her eyes.  "You shouldn't give this to me Rei-chan.  I let it be destroyed by the Tellun plant, I'm not worthy of such a gift.”

A bittersweet smile crossed the ravenette’s lips.  “I'm certain you gave it a better life than I could've.  Regardless, I wasn’t even sure if you would like it…”  A soft pause settled as the ravenette searched her empty hands.  “If I had known Sasanqua Camilia was your favorite flower, I would’ve gotten those for you instead.”

The brunette continued to look at the small bundle of roses, each one with a scent so sweet and an inner light that seemed to contend with the darkness the Tellun plant had submersed the entire room in.  The brunette gave a light chuckle before turning back to the ravenette, who sat there so beautiful, determined and proud.

“Do you wanna know a secret?”

The ravenette quirked her head to one side as the brunette shifted her knees beneath her to be taller and lean closer towards the shrine maiden.

“I love pink roses as much as I love Sasanqua Camilia.”

The breath of her own words felt warm against the ravenette’s lips as she leaned in to close the gap, feeling the shrine maiden respond by moving her hand towards her jawline.  The kiss intensified as the brunette began to count the sparks she could see.

It was the perfect first kiss.

And as their lips parted a single thought crossed her mind.

She hoped her first kiss could be just like that.

She'd just have to find the right person to share it with.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this update is late! I ended up going out of town and wasn't able to post yesterday like I thought. Regardless, here's the latest update of War's Greatest Fortune. Please read, kudos, comment and enjoy!

She couldn’t believe this.

Of course, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise, all factors taken into account, but the rate at which life went from bad to worse was definitely surreal.

She just had to find a place where no one would bother her.  No one could interrupt her thoughts with crazy, stupid ramblings about what she did or didn’t or might’ve been manipulated into doing.  She just needed to find a space where no one would bother her.

She slammed the door shut as she leaned her back against it, sliding her head against it as she slowly crumpled to the floor.

At least she would be safe here.

“Rei-chan?”

Amethyst eyes snapped upwards as they widened in shock.

“Mako-chan?  What are you doing here?!”

“Uh…” the brunette responded, head tilting at the question.  “I live here?”

The ravenette blinked a few times, as if needing to focus in on the decorative houseplants and fashionable furnishings that identified the apartment as being the Kino abode.

“Right…” the raventte admonished herself sharply as she averted her gaze, a soft blush overtaking her cheeks.  “I apologize, I should-”

“Whoa, hey, you don’t need to leave!”  The brunette cried as she rushed from the couch to try to stop the ravenette.  “I mean, I don’t know why you’re here, but your more than welcome to stay.”

The shrine maiden paused as her hand rested just on top of the door knob.  “I… that’s nice of you to offer, but completely unnecessary.   I was just looking to be alone and-”

“I can leave!”  The brunette blurted out, a soft blush rising to her face with the offer.  “I mean, I’m sure I can find somewhere else for me to be if you-”

The ravenette turned to give the brawler her full attention.  “I am not so rude as to kick someone out of their own home.”  Amethyst eyes averted as the ravenette mumbled a final thought to herself.  "Unlike somebody I know."

The brunette tilted her head slightly before deciding to give up on wondering what the last of the miko’s message was.  She released a sigh as she shook her head lightly.  “Look, Rei-chan, I honestly don’t mind.  I still have my key to the roof, so I can just hang there if you need-”

“Mako-chan,” the ravenette spoke softly, causing the room to go silent to listen to the fortune teller’s message.  “You’re perfectly fine.  I just didn’t want to be intruding.”

“Rei-chan,” the brunette began, letting the words sink in before beaming her friend a brilliant smile.  “I already told you you’re always welcome.  I feel like that should be obvious since you’ve already got a key to my place.”

Amethyst orbs rolled as the shrine maiden moved slightly away from the door.  “Everyone has a key to your apartment Mako-chan.”  The small smile on her face faded as she turned to look back at the door before turning back to the brunette.  “Does that mean the others are also welcome at anytime?”

The brunette let out an awkward chuckle as she scratched the back of her head.  “Well, I mean, more or less, I guess…”

Amethyst orbs narrowed in an analytical gaze that pierced through the brunette’s soul.  “Didn’t Usagi-chan and the others say they were going straight to the arcade?”

“Huh?”  The brunette paused before shaking her head to clear out her confusion.  “Oh, oh yeah!  Yeah, they were planning on hanging out at the arcade, but I told then I had to run some errands and I’d catch up with them later, so-”

“But you don’t appear to be running errands now.”

The brunette blanched as she began to stutter.  “W-Well, I mean, I was going to, you know, but then I got distracted with- with studying!  And… And…”

The amethyst gaze narrowed sharply until the brunette dropped her gaze to release a sigh.  “And I’m a fucking liar.”

The ravenette took soft steps towards the brunette as she offered her warmest smile.  “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Yes!  I mean, no!  I just…” the brunette fidgeted as she subconsciously rubbed her hands against each other.

“Mako-chan?”

Emerald snapped towards amethyst, losing herself in the color as the memories seemed to flash into her mind.

_Rei-chan’s so lucky she doesn’t have an old hag bossing her around all the time!_

_CRASH! CLANK! CLATTER!_

_Get out of my house now!_

_Aw don’t be mad at me Rei-chan!  You’re the one who tried to kiss me!_

_She just had to find the right person to share her first kiss with._

The brunette averted her gaze as she felt a soft blush rising to her cheeks.  “It’s not worth talking about.”

“Oh…” the ravenette let the word fall as she turned her gaze back to the brunette’s.  “Well, if you’d rather not share than I won’t pry.”

A relieved sigh escaped the brunette as the tension visibly released from her shoulders.  “Thank you, Rei-chan.  I truly appreciate that.”

“Of course,” the ravenette nodded before walking past, moving towards the couch.  “However, I recommend that you find someone you wouldn’t mind sharing with, even if you don’t want to discuss it with me, I can tell you want to tell someone.”

“Hey!  That’s not true!  What makes you say that?!”

The shrine maiden sent a soft smirk over her shoulder as she turned back to the brunette.  “Because you always want to talk about the things that bother you.”

“Hey!”  The brunette pointed at the shrine maiden to challenge the statement before pausing.  “I mean!  Well…” she released a sigh as she shook her head towards the floor.  “I’m that obvious, aren’t I?”

The shrine maiden gave a shrug as she reached out towards a flower about to blossom on the brunette’s end table.  “You’re the honest one, remember?  It’s not a bad thing.”

The brunette walked across the floor before slumping in the couch as she crossed her arms and pouted.  “I guess.  So do you wanna talk about why you’re avoiding the others?”

The ravenette froze slightly before readjusting and focusing her attention on the plant before her.  “What makes you believe I’m avoiding anyone?”

“You said you came here to be alone, right?”  The brunette asked as the shrine maiden humphed in response.

“I did, which I thought would make it obvious that I do not wish to discuss the issue.”

Slender shoulders shrugged slightly as the brunette turned her gaze back forwards.  “Yeah, sorry that was stupid.  I just... I mean… I should just-”

The brunette rose steadily as the ravenette snapped her head to watch as the brawler slowly walked towards the door.  “Mako-chan, wait!  Where do you think you’re going?!”

Another shrug was the response as the brawler turned her gaze towards the shrine maiden.  “I’ll figure it out.”

“Mako-chan, don’t leave, it’s just…” the ravenette groaned as she hid her face in her hands before turning back towards the brunette.  “It’s just things have been stressful with exams coming up and school has been rather nasty recently and I just…”

The shrine maiden sighed as she shook her head with an emerald gaze turning sympathetically towards her friend.

“You’re still dealing with the consequences of Mina-chan’s little ‘school visit,’ aren’t you?”

The ravenette groaned as she sat on the couch.  “Do you have any idea how much trouble she got me in?  They’ve been calling me in every day for a week to investigate the ‘mysterious intruder’ who so brazenly announced herself on the academy grounds and have me cleaning the faculty lounge every day for a month to make up for Mina-chan’s shattering the window during volleyball.”

The brunette loosed a soft chuckle as she shook her head.  “Man, I know I’d heard Mina-chan was nearly arrested for trespassing, but I didn’t realize that she vandalized your school while she was there.”

“What does it matter,” the ravenette scoffed as she crossed her arms.  “Mina-chan can do no wrong.  Apparently, she has some connections with the police headquarters back from her time as Sailor V so they allowed her to go free.  Not that that helps _me_ any?”

“Wait, Mina-chan has friends in the police department?”   The brunette asked before tilting her head to think.  “But Mina-chan always talks about how much she hates the police.  That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Nothing about Mina-chan makes sense!”  The ravenettte announced as she held her face in her hands.  “And now her perpetual nonsense is causing me to lose my mind!”

The brunette moved slowly towards the couch, taking a seat next to the distraught friend as she rested a comforting hand on her friend’s shoulder.  Amethyst orbs turned to the emerald gaze that was completed with a soft smile.  “Is there anything you need me to do to help?”

The ravenette loosed a sigh that released all the tension in her body.  “You’re already doing more than I could have dared to ask for.”

“Really?”  The brunette asked incredulously as she scratched the back of her head.  “I don’t feel like I’ve done much of anything.”

“Oh believe me, you definitely have,” the ravenette answered with a smirk crossing her face.  “And I appreciate all of your support.”

“Huh?  Oh, well, I mean of course!”  The brunette answered with an awkward chuckle as she let her arm fall awkwardly to her side.  “I’m always willing to help.”

The ravenette hummed in approval as a pause settled between them, causing the shrine maiden to tilt her head at the brunette.  She didn’t seem as talkative as she had grown accustomed to, which had the shrine maiden growing slightly concerned.  Of course, the brunette had already said there was something bothering her that she didn’t want to talk about.  And the firebrand promised that she wouldn’t pry.  She released a sigh before noting the familiar book resting at the end of the coffee table.  “Were you studying before I arrived?”

The brunette hummed in question, tilting her head towards the ravenette before redirecting her gaze to where the amethyst one resided.  “Oh, oh yeah!  Yeah, I just… you know…” the brunette mumbled as she reached out for her book.  “I tried doing what I could, but I keep getting stumped on some of these.  I was planning on asking Ami-chan for help… at some point.”

A soft chuckle escaped the ravenette as she shook her head.  “It sounds like I’m not the only one avoiding our friends today.”

“Er… well…” the brunette blushed furiously as she turned away from the shrine maiden.  “Fine, you caught me.  Just don’t let the others know alright.”

“Mako-chan,” the shrine maiden lightly giggled as she offered her most sincere smile.  “Why would I tell the others when I came here for the sole purpose of not having to talk to them.”

The brunette released a soft chuckle as she shook her head.  “Yeah, that’s a fair point.”

“I’m glad you agree,” the ravenette stated in a light tone.  “Also, if you would like, I would be more than happy to look through your workbook and see how you’re doing with your studies.”

“Actually, would you really?”  The brunette asked hopefully as she held out the workbook in front of her.  “It would really help me out to know if I’m on the right track or not.”

“Of Course,” the ravenette stated as she took the book from the brunette and grabbed a pen from the coffee table to take notes as she explained the problems, what the brunette did right, where she might have gone astray and everything else that would help the brunette.

But the brunette missed every word she’d said.

Instead, she was fighting down a blush as she noticed the unearthly grace with which the shrine maiden moved, the soft timbre with which she spoke that sounded so serene to the ears.  She thought back to her dream where she shared a kiss with the beautiful fire senshi, cherishing the memory of it, regardless of how unreal it may have been.

She couldn’t help but wonder if Mina-chan would’ve cherished the kiss as much as Makoto dreamed she had.

“Mako-chan, did you get any of that?”

The brunette blinked rapidly as she turned her gaze towards the ravenette.  “Hm?  Oh, I kinda spaced for a moment… sorry.”

The ravenette sighed as she set the workbook aside.  “Well, maybe you need a break.  Ami-chan still wants us all to meet at the arcade at five for our next study session.  We can continue this then.”

“Right…” the brunette near mumbled as she cast her gaze to the floor.  She knew it was inevitable that they had to get together for their study session.  Regardless of how much the brunette may have wanted to avoid them, they were all bound together by destiny.

Of course, the love senshi would have to watch her mouth lest she say something they’d all regret.

* * *

 

“WAAAAAAAH!!!!  I’M SOOOOOOOOOOOO BOOOOOOOORED!!!!!!!”

“Mina-chan, now is not an adequate time to be complaining!  Remember, we only have three weeks left before the official entrance exam and we must be at our absolute best if we hope to all get into high school together!”

“Ami-chan!  Look what I did!”

The bluenette studied the workbook in front of her as she discouragingly fixed the glasses on her nose.  “Usagi-chan, that looks like nothing more than a sketch of you in a wedding dress with Mamoru-san.”

“I know!  Doesn’t it look amazing!”

“Really?!  Let me see!”

“Ladies…” the bookworm silently seethed as the two blondes commented on the rushed doodles of the moon princess.  “Did you not hear the fact that we only have three weeks left?!  We don’t have time for this nonsense!  And where are Mako-chan and Rei-chan anyways?!”

“Beats me,” the love senshi answered flippantly as she moved to lean back in her chair while the moon princess turned towards the bluenette with concern shimmering in crystal eyes.  “You know, neither of them have been showing up to our study sessions recently.  Do you think they’re getting stressed with all the studying?”

“I’m the one who’s stressed!”  The love senshi announced as she slammed her fists against the table.  “A measly twelve on my practice exams isn’t going to get me anywhere!  I bet they’re just sluffing off on studying so that they can stop to stuff the poses.”

“Mina-chan, you don’t really think they’d just abandon all studies, do you?”

“Of course!”  The blonde announced emphatically.  “Given the fact that Rei-chan doesn’t have high school entrance exams and that Mako-chan is running a single-person household they decided that studying wasn’t as important.”

“Honestly, I can see why Rei-chan wouldn’t be inclined to join us after the stunt you pulled Mina-chan.”  The bluenette confessed as she took on a thoughtful pose.  “However, Mako-chan had been slowly fazing herself out of our study groups for a while now, but I can’t figure out a reasonable cause for it.”

“You know, you’re right!”  The bun head affirmed before turning back to the other blonde.  “As a matter of fact, Mina-chan, hasn’t she been distancing herself more and more since the night she said we could sleep over a few weeks back?”

“Oh, you mean when she _said_ we could sleep over before kicking us out ten minutes later?”  The blonde answered in a bitter tone.  “How should I know?!  I was too focused on getting into Rei-chan’s all girl’s school to pay attention to Mako-chan’s pissy mood.”

“That doesn’t sound very much like Mako-chan.”  The bookworm confessed as she leaned forward towards the twin blondes.  “How did that come about?”

“I’m honestly not sure…” the bun headed blonde confessed as she pressed her pencil against her chin.  “I know that you and Rei-chan left while we were playing the Sailor V game since you wanted to do more studying and Rei-chan had to wake up early for exorcism rites.”

“Yeah, and then we were talking about how Rei-chan’s so lucky because she has everything worked out for her!”

“How so?”  The bluenette prodded, sensing a reasonable explanation was bound to be found shortly.

“Well, I mean, come on!  It’s Rei-chan!  She goes to a private girl’s school that has no exams, she can watch as much television as she wants, she’s admired by all the police officers and just about every other guy in town, she doesn’t have some bossy old hag telling her what to do all the time, she-”

“Wait,” the bookworm paused as she leaned against her elbows.  “What do you mean by ‘bossy old hag?’”

The blonde rolled her eyes as she turned back to the bluenette.  “Well, what do you think?!  She just lives with her grandpa who basically lets her do whatever, right?  That means, with no mom, she doesn’t have some nagging wench constantly on her about everything she does.”

“Do you even hear yourself right now?!”  The bluenette shouted as she rose to her feet.  “Please, don’t tell me you actually said that!”

“I don’t know, why does it matter?”

“Breaking glass…”

“Huh?”  Both pairs of blue eyes turned towards the moon princess who stared blankly at the center of their table.

“That’s right, after you mentioned how lucky Rei-chan was to not have a mother we heard loud crashes coming from the kitchen.  We rushed over and Mako-chan’s fingers were completely cut up as she pulled them from the sink that seemed full of broken dishes.  We rushed over to try to help, but instead she shouted at us to get out…”

Blue eyes turned towards the wisdom senshi, seeking the answer as to where they went wrong.  “We upset her with that, didn’t we?  I didn’t know why she was mad, but it was because of that, wasn’t it?”

“I still don’t see what the issue is,” the blonde announced as she crossed her arms and averted her gaze.  “I was just saying the truth.”

“Mina-chan!  How could you have said that?!  What’s wrong with you?!”

“What do you mean what’s wrong with me?!”  The blonde shouted back as she sat upright.  “Mako-chan’s the one who flipped out over nothing!”

“You are thoroughly ignorant aren’t you!”  The bluenette shouted as she slammed a fist against the table.  “We didn’t lose our parents because we wanted them gone!  Do you have _any_ idea what it’s like living in a house where your family’s fallen apart?!”

“Ami-chan-”

“DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT IT'S LIKE TO HAVE A PARENT WHO ONLY REMINDS YOU OF WHAT A FAILURE YOU ARE?!”

The blonde rose to her feet with fists clenching on the table.  “Do you have any idea what it’s like to be constantly told that I’ll never amount to anything because I’m too stupid?  Or that I’m too clumsy, and too messy and just can’t do anything right…” the blonde paused as she furiously fought against the tears that pricked at the corners of her eyes.  “Dammit, I swore I wouldn’t cry about this anymore.”

“Mina-chan!”

The moon princess rushed over to try to comfort the blonde as the bluenette’s jaw repeatedly opened and closed, trying to determine what she actually wanted to say before hearing the dinging of the arcade doors.

“Sorry, we're late.”

The soft mumble was immediately met with all blue eyes turning towards the duo as the blonde quickly wiped away her remaining tears.  “Oh!  Hey Mako-chan, Rei-chan.  Glad you could make it.”

“Mina-chan?”

“Oh my gosh, Mina-chan, what happened?”

The brunette rushed over to the blonde as the ravenette watched from the doorway, the blonde gave a broken smile as she tried to allay the brawler’s concerns.  “It’s nothing Mako-chan, don’t you know studying always brings me to tears?”

“Hey…”

“It was my fault,” the bluenette admitted as she hugged one of her elbows.  “We were trying to figure out why you might be late and I… I pushed too hard…”

“Is your mother really that bad Mina-chan?”  The moon princess asked as she held the other blonde’s hand in her own.

“I mean, not usually…”  the love senshi confessed as she continued to wipe her eyes with her palm.  “It’s just, we’ve been fighting with each other more and more this year since my grades are as bad as ever.”  Pleading blue eyes turned to emerald as the athlete fought back the tears.  “I wasn’t thinking about how what I’d say would affect you though.  I’m sorry Mako-chan, I can understand why you hate me.”

“Mina-chan, I could never hate you,” the brunette stated as she ruffled the blonde’s hair, loosening it slightly from the red ribbon she wore.  “You’re just impulsive.  Which is fine, I mean, that’s a part of who you are, it’s just that sometimes your impulsive nature causes you to hurt the people around you.”

The blonde released a sigh as she turned to the bluenette.  “Ami-chan, I’m sorry for shouting at you.”

Slender shoulders shrugged as the bookworm released the tension there.  “It’s alright, I understand things have been stressful these days.”

“And Rei-chan, I’m sorry I broke into your school and almost got you kicked out.”

The ravenette lowered her gaze as she shook her head softly to hide her chuckles.  “I’m probably just as much at fault for inviting you.  I’ll consider us even if you stop spreading rumors that I tried to kiss you.”

“But it’s not a rumor!  You totally did-!”

“Mina-chan….”

The blonde shrunk back in her seat from the low growl as she awkwardly chuckled.  “I mean, what do I mean you tried to kiss me, like gross.”

Amethyst orbs rolled in response as the shrine maiden moved to join the others at the table.  “I’ll consider that adequate.”

“Have you ever talked to your mother about what’s bothering you?”

“Yes!  I mean, no!  I mean I just don’t know Usagi-chan.”  The blonde admitted as she hid her head in her arms.  “I mean, it’s not like she would listen to me anyways.”

“You don’t know that.”  The shrine maiden responded with a soft smile.

“Yeah, maybe it’s bothering your mom too, but she just doesn’t know how to talk about it with you because she fears another clash happening.”  The brunette suggested.

The blonde sighed as she shook her head.  “It wouldn’t do any good.  Let’s face it, I’m just gunna flunk out of school and she’s gunna hate me forever for it.”

“You’re not going to fail.”  The bluenette announced, moving back towards the table as she took the seat across from the blonde who scoffed at the notion.

“Ami-chan, have you just met me?  Despite all our study sessions I still haven’t even gotten passed a twenty percent on my mock exams!  I’m a born failure!”

“That’s not true Mina-chan.”  The bluenette asserted as she garnered all the blonde’s attention.  “Do you remember when I told you that you would pass the exam with no issues if you treated it with as much dedication as you do a Sailor mission.”

“Yeah, but this isn’t a Sailor mission!”  The blonde complained as she rose dramatically.  “What difference does it make to my destiny if I manage to make it into high school or not?”

“It matters so that we can all remain together as a unit.”  The bluenette stated as she rose from her seat.  “I am making it my personal mission to make sure none of us fall behind so that we can remain together throughout our academic career.”

“Pfft, it’s not like me getting held back will affect anything.”  The blonde retorted as she turned away.  “I mean, it’s not like we’re all together at school anyways.  We’re not a complete unit.”

“But if you get held back, we won’t be able to hold these study sessions to try to get you caught back up because we’ll have our own high school responsibilities.”  The bluenette explained before sighing.  “Look, I know I’ve been pushing a lot lately, I just want us all to still remain together as we move onwards in the education system.”

The blonde gave a neutral hum as she averted her gaze, the bluenette giving a sigh in response to the reaction.

“Maybe we should get started.”  The ravenette recommended as she moved to settle into the seat nearest her.  “Unless we’d rather take a break for the night.”

“We can play some of the games and just relax.”  The moon princess suggested as she looked pleadingly towards the sailor leader.

The blonde sighed before turning back to her princess.  “Thanks, Usagi-chan, but… I think I just need to think things out right now.”

The wisdom senshi slunk into her seat as she rubbed her temples fiercely.  “Well, I do suppose we’ve been under a lot of stress these days that I will permit a break.  _However_ , this will be the last break I will allow until entrance exams are over.  Is that clear?”

All heads nodded before the bluenette sighed and rose to her feet.  “Very well, I will continue my studies elsewhere so that I do not-”

“What are you talking about Ami-chan?!”

“Yeah, you gotta help me beat Haruka-san’s score in ‘Battle Lap!’”

“But that’s preposterous!”  The bluenette cried as the bun-head and brunette dragged her across the arcade.  “Haruka-san is a world-renown race car driver!  The odds of breaking their record in a racing game are astronomically low!  Especially when you consider the fact that…”

The explanation got lost in the laughter of the other two as they threw the helmet on the bookworm to have her race the brawler as the blonde acted as their cheerleader, the love senshi chuckling softly to herself at their antics.

“You know, you’re free to join them in their festivities.”

Blue eyes turned towards the shrine maiden who had begun taking notes in her workbook as she pretended to be completely oblivious to all the racket the others were making.

“You know, you’re free to join them too.”

“Very true.”  The ravenette deadpanned without moving her eyes from the page she was working on, causing the blonde to be mildly irritated.  “Why are you wasting so much time anyways!  You don’t even have entrance exams!”

“Why did you waste so much time and energy to visit my school when I told you there was no way you’d actually be able to transfer?”

“That’s… I mean… Shut up!”  The blonde commanded as she slumped in her seat.  “You know that studying isn’t my strong suit.”

“You know that friendship building isn’t my strong suit,” the ravenette informed casually.  “Yet here we are.”

The blonde offered a soft ‘hmph’ as the ravenette softly closed her workbook before rising to her feet.  “You should really listen to Ami-chan.  You definitely have the drive to succeed in anything you choose to do, you just need to apply yourself appropriately.”

“Ugh, why should I bother applying myself to studying, I don’t care about school!  And when Usagi-chan rules Crystal Tokyo I’m going to convince her that all schools should be banished!”

“That’s nice.”  The ravenette responded indifferently.  “In the meantime, you have the next thousand years to figure out what you _do_ care about enough to encourage you to pass the high school entrance exam.”

“Psh, I don’t plan on being in middle school for the next thousand years.  By the way, where are you going?”

“I’m heading home,” the ravenette informed.  “If there’s no studying happening here then I may as well head home and get my chores done.”

“Wench!”  The blonde shouted as she rose to her feet.  “You can never get your story straight can you?!  You say you study with us because you have free time, then you say it’s because you have your own exams you need to pass and  _now_ you say you don’t have time at all because of chores!  Which is it?!”

Amethyst orbs rolled at the blonde’s exuberance.  “I don’t need to answer that.  I’m just as perplexed that the girl who claims her special skill is ‘having fun’ is sitting at the back table moping.”

“I don’t need to answer to you!  I can do what I want with my life!”

“And yet you fall so quickly into your destiny.”

The blonde blinked a few moments before voicing her confusion.  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’ll figure it out.”  The ravenette stated as she turned away.  “I’m heading home, wish the others a good evening for me.”

“Wai-Buh-GYAH!!!”

The blonde stumbled back into her seat as she crossed her arms and pouted.  She couldn’t stand Rei-chan!  She wasn’t sure what it was, but every time they saw each other it felt like they had to fight about something.  Which was easy since they were basically polar opposites, and they always knew just the right buttons to push to get the other infuriated.

_You fall so quickly into your destiny._

What did that riddling wench know?  Using big words to sound so smart!

_You have the next thousand years to figure out what you care about enough to pass the entrance exams._

What did Rei-chan care?  She’ll show her!  She’ll-

_You would pass the exam if you treated it with as much dedication as a Sailor mission._

The blonde sighed.  She knew the bluenette was right... and she supposed Rei-chan was too.  But it was just so… _boring_.  Being a Sailor Guardian was thrilling and adventurous and full of uncertainty while studying… just left _her_ full of uncertainty.  How was she supposed to view them the same way?

She dropped her head on the table as she began to mope, eyes lingering on the blonde sitting in one of the race cars as she turned the wheel erratically while she desperately raced the brunette.  A soft smile tugged at the blonde’s cheek as she watched the moon princess jolt back in her seat, head swirling from the impact of a virtual crash as the other two doted on her.  Suddenly, she began to wonder why she was so obsessed with Rei-chan.  So obsessed with attending TA Academy for girls.  Of course she couldn’t transfer there.  Of course she couldn't focus on her high school exams.

She couldn't succeed if she was too focused on moving forward in a place that wouldn't forward her destiny at all.

She rose to her feet as she walked towards the exit with the bun headed blonde noticing and rushing towards her.  “Mina-chan!  Where are you going?  Is everything okay?”

The athlete beamed her most brilliant smile towards her princess.  “Everything’s fine Usagi-chan, I just decided I needed to go home and talk some things over with my parents.”

A curt nod was the response as the bun-head gave the senshi leader a comforting smile.  “Okay, but if you need anything, you’ll be sure to tell us, right?”

“I wouldn’t worry about that Usagi-chan.”  The blonde responded as she fixed the bow in her hair.  “I’ve decided what’s going to get me through those exams.”

“You really mean it?!”

“Yep!”  The blonde exclaimed before giving her friend a cheeky grin.  “Which means you’d better get going on your studies so that we can both go to high school together.”

“Okay!”  The blonde cheered as she bounced on her feet.  “We’re going together!  I promise, I’ll work extra hard for you!”

The love senshi laughed as she shook her head.  “It’s a deal.  We’re going full throttle starting now, which is why I need to talk to my parents.”

“Yeah, well it’s sad to see you leave early, but I understand it’s what needs to be done.”  The moon princess admitted as she gave a determined nod and a wave.  “Have a good rest of your evening Mina-P!  I’ll give the others my regards for you!”

“You take care too Usagi-chan!”  The blonde exclaimed as she began to head out the doors.  “I promise to catch up with you tomorrow!”

The bun-head continued to wave as the blonde watched her retreat back into the arcade, the change in honorific leaving her slightly confused but ecstatic at the same time.  She gave a final sigh before running home, taking a quick turn to leap over a fence that’d get her home faster.

She had a promise to keep after all.

* * *

 

The door flung open as the blonde kicked it back shut quickly while a dark-haired woman rushed to the door.

“Minako!  You’re home rather early.”

“Mom, I need to talk to you-”

“What have you done to your school uniform!”  The woman admonished as she walked towards the blonde and began to grab at the fabric to better inspect it.  “I told you not to jump fences anymore!  When will you ever listen to me!”

“Mom!  That’s not important right now!  I need to talk to you about high school!”

“Mina-chan,” the woman sighed as she shook her head.  “I don’t have time to discuss that right now.  I’m going to have to mend your uniform, get it washed, get dinner going, clean the dishes-”

“Mom, I know you’re busy, but this is-!”

“Now hurry on up to the bath Minako!”  The woman commanded as she began pushing the blonde towards the stairs.  “And leave you uniform outside so that I can-”

“MOM!!!”

The blonde shouted, turning out of her mother’s path who stumbled slightly from the momentum before stopping.  “Will you just listen to me for once!”

“Mina-chan!  I’d have more time if you’d just listen-”

“I’ll help you with the dishes, dinner and laundry!  Just please stop and listen to me for a moment!”

The blonde breathed heavily, trying desperately to fight back the frustration that she felt rising to avoid another clashing.  The woman watched patiently as the blonde began to slow her breathing, releasing the tension in her body as the air began to feel noticeably lighter.

“Okay, Minako.”  The woman began, speaking in a soft voice to keep the atmosphere’s equilibrium in check.  “What did you want to talk about?”

The blonde took a deep sigh, inhaling deeply through her nose as she opened her eyes slowly.

“I want to switch schools.”

“Minako,” the woman sighed as she rolled her eyes.  “I’ve told you, TA Academy for Girl’s isn’t accepting anyone-”

“I don’t care about that.”  The blonde interrupted brusquely before catching her breath again to keep calm.  “That’s not where I was thinking anyways.”

The woman tilted her head as she gave her daughter a quizzical look.  “Where did you have in mind?”

“I want to go to Jûban High.”

The woman released a sigh as she shook her head.  “Minako.”

“I want to attend high school with my friends, Mom.”  The blonde began to explain as the determination remained in her face.  “Usagi-chan, Mako-chan and Ami-chan all attend there, and Ami-chan will make sure that I don’t fall behind in my studies.”

The woman raised an eyebrow before shaking her head with a smile.  “I’ve also noticed that your uniform is in better condition when your friends walk you home.”

The blonde blushed as she looked over her uniform.  She was pretty careless when she jumped over the fence, but how was she supposed to know that there was a giant mud puddle on the other side?  “Right, sorry mom.”

“You can show me your sorry by getting to work,” the woman stated with a smirk.  “Get going to the bath, I’ll get started on your uniform and once you’re out we can get started on dinner.  Does curry sound good to you?”

The blonde beamed as she rushed over to the older woman.  “Thanks mo-!”

“We’ll save the gratitude for after your bath.”  The dark haired woman stated.  “Also, if you want to go to Jûban High, you’re going to have to show me you’re willing to work hard for it.  So promise me this, every study session you go to with your friends, you bring me back the work, I’ll look over that and your mock test scores and determine if you are serious about switching schools.”

“Right!”  The blonde shouted as she saluted.  “Don’t worry mother!  I promise I won’t let you down!”

“I’m certain you won’t.”  the woman stated as a smile grew on her face.  “You always succeed in the things you set your mind to.  I’m just happy that you’ve decided to set your mind on something sensible this time around.”

A repressed memory flashed through her mind as her face fell slightly.  That wasn’t entirely true.  There was a moment, once, long ago where she failed the person she cared about most.

“Mina-chan?”

The blonde shook her head vigorously.  “Fear not mother!  For I shall traverse to yonder bathroom and return completely cleansed as per your orders post haste!”

And with that the blonde rushed off, leaving her mother absolutely baffled by the stairway as she rushed to get to her room as the thoughts rushed through her head.

There was a time when she failed her princess.

She would not allow the same mistake to be made again.

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, so, there's that. Anyway, feel free to let me know what you think.


End file.
